Columbia  Umbersitp 

THE  LIBRARIES 


JPb 


;V 'If* 


Bequest  oi 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1915 


GENERAL  LIBRARY 


^teoflecthms  of  s  Sip'ammiite: 

OR, 

SKETCHES 

OP 

LIFE,  LABOB,  AND  EXPEBIENCE 

IN    THE 

METHODIST  ITINERANCY. 

BY 

BEV.    DAVID    LEWIS, 

OF  THE  OHIO  AHNTTAI  COXFEEEXCE. 

EDITED    BY    SET.    S.   M.    MERRILL. 


CINCINNATI: 

PRINTED  AT  THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN, 
FOR  THE  AUTHOR. 

R.    P.    THOMPSON,    PRINTER. 
1857. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857, 

BY   DAVID   LEWIS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District 
of  Ohio. 


C3 


PREFACE 


"Of  making  books  there  is  no  end;"  and  no 
doubt  the  publication  of  works  of  superior  merit 
on  scientific,  literary,  and  religious  subjects,  is 
accomplishing  much  good.  But  these  do  not 
meet  the  whole  demand.  Many  will  be  enter- 
tained and  profited  by  the  perusal  of  works  of 
humbler  pretensions.  For  this  class  of  persons 
this  volume  is  designed. 

In  presenting  it  to  the  public,  the  Author  is 

fully  sensible  that  a  mass  of  prejudice  must  be 

encountered.     Some  regard  such  publications  as 

unnecessary   in   this   day,    when    such    immense 

quantities    of    reading   matter   are   issuing   from 

the  teeming  press ;    others  think  it   particularly 

unbecoming  in  any  one  to  write  his  own  history. 

But,  being  unable  to  see  any  impropriety  in  the 

course,  the  Author  has  yielded  to  the  solicitations 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

of  his  friends,  who  have  repeatedly  expressed 
their  desire  that  he  should  do  it,  and  prepared 
these  "  sketches,"  which  he  now  sends  forth,  with 
his  sincere  prayer  to  the  Father  of  mercies,  that 
his  blessing  may  attend  tins  last  effort  of  an  old 
man  to  benefit  his  fellow-men,  and  that  the  little 
book  may  be  rendered  subservient  to  some  useful 
purpose. 

This  is  a  reading  age.  There  is  little  danger 
of  producing  too  many  books  for  the  demand ;  but 
there  is  some  danger  that  in  these  fast  times 
the  prevailing  taste  will  require  too  many  pub- 
lications of  a  peculiar  kind — light,  trashy,  cor- 
rupting— while  solid  truths  in  plain  dress  will 
be  overlooked.  The  "  rage "  is  for  something 
new,  fresh,  racy;  the  Author  does  not  presume 
to  have  produced  a  work  that  will  meet  this 
fashionable  "rage."  He  has  spoken  of  olden 
times,  of  familiar  truths,  in  a  plain  way.  As  a 
writer,  he  makes  no  pretensions  beyond  the  mere 
statement  of  what  he  knows.  He  writes  not  for 
the  critic,  but  for  the  common  reader ;  and  those 
who  can  not  be  entertained  with  the  narration  of 
the  every-day  life  of  the  Methodist  preacher,  he 
can  not  hope  to  please.      He  has  not  aimed  at 


PREFACE 


elaborate  polish,  or  rhetorical  ornament;  he  claims 
no  striking  originality  or  peculiar  felicity  of  style ; 
and  sincerely  requests  all  who  read  these  pages 
to  refrain  from  uncharitable  criticism,  and  to  pray 
that  God's  blessing  may  rest  upon  the  truths 
inculcated,  so  that  the  name  of  the  Lord  may 
be  glorified. 

To  all  his  old  friends  among  whom  he  has 
gone  preaching  the  Gospel,  the  Author  would 
commend  the  little  volume,  without  any  formal 
"dedication."  He  has  been  much  profited,  and 
whiled  away  pleasantly  many  hours  of  his  "  super-* 
annuated"  life,  in  writing  these  "recollections;" 
and  if  the  reader  should  be  in  the  least  bene- 
fited in  perusing  them,  he  will  be  amply  re- 
warded for  his  toil. 

9 

Johnstown,  0.,  August,  1856. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEK    I. 

EARLY    LIFE    AND    EXPERIENCE. 

Place  of  birth — Parents — Mother's  pious  conversation  — Early  convic- 
tions— Good  resolutions— Satan's  delusion — Attend  Church  with  uncle 
and  aunt — Great  thoughtlessness — A  strange  scene — Pride — Mother's 
admonition — Wicked  reply— Conviction — Deep  anguish — Firm  resolu- 
tion— Penitence — Earnest  struggle — Sins  pardoned — Happy  change — 
Further  prayer — The  -witness  of  the  Spirit — First  profession — Happy 
meeting — Exhort  sinners— Concern  for  the  unconverted — Unite  with 
Baptist  Church — Bigotry — Baptist  ministers — First  sight  of  a  Methodist 
preacher — Good  advice  neglected — Strong  temptation — Rash  deter- 
mination— Snares  of  Satan — Backslidden  state — New  epoch— Strange 
preacher — Interesting  discourse — Rev.  Joseph  Mitchell — Awakened — 
Restored — Methodist  preachers — Slander — Sister  converted — Father's 
opposition  to  Methodism — Sister's   happy  death Page  15 

CHAPTEK    II. 

JOIN    THE    METHODISTS COMMENCE    PREACHING. 

Attachment  to  Methodism — Opposition  of  the  Baptist  minister — Result 
of  fighting  the  truth — Married — Go  into  business — Selling  rum — Con- 
sequence— Move  to  Plattsburg — Methodist  meetings — Determination 
formed — Join  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — "Wife  joins — New  relig- 
ious interest — Holiday  meetings — Persecution — Prayer  answered — Op- 
poser  converted— New  society  formed — Impressions  in  reference  to 
preaching — Want  of  qualification — Embarrassment — Mind  made  up — ■ 
Lincensed  to  exhort — Employed  to  fill  the  preacher's  place — Licensed  to 
preach— Employed  on  Fletcher  circuit,  first  quarter— First  sermon- 
Temptation — Yow — Woman  converted — Encouragement — Employed  on 
Dunham  circuit,  Lower  Canada — Destitute  neighborhoods — Obstinate 
woman — British   dominions — Better  prospects — Obstinate   woman  con- 


»  CONTENTS. 

verted— Hard  fare — Good  homes — Bigelow  family — Anderson  family — 
Horse  lost — Mind  beclouded — Deliverance — Opposer  converted — Close 
of  first  itinerant  year Page  33 

CHAPTEE    III. 

FLETCHER    CIRCUIT  —  UNDER    THE    ELDER. 

Vacancy  left — Rev.  F.  Brown — Opposition  to  Methodism — Circuit  distant 
from  home — Waterbury — Good  meetings — Temptation — Humbling  views 
of  self — Responsibility  of  the  Christian  ministry — Jericho — A  Calvin- 
istic  objector — Mr.  S.  W. — Colloquy — St.  Alban's  Point — Conversion  of 
N.  White— First  Methodist  sermon  in  Fairfield — Preaching  in  a  new 
place — Marks  of  true  prosperity — Close  of  the  year 49 

CHAPT  EK     IV. 

GRAND    ISLE     CIRCUIT. 

Admitted  on  trial  in  the  New  York  conference — The  Grand  Isle  circuit — 
Narrow  quarters — South  Island — Good  neighbors — Appointment  in 
Canada — A  wonderful  sermon — Nature  and  duty  of  confession — A  camp 
meeting — Discouragement — Success — Advantages  of  camp  meetings — 
Good  result — Quarterly  meeting  in  a  barn — Exchange  with  brother 
B. —  Intemperate  young  man  —  Appointments  neglected  —  A  crooked 
stick — A  perilous  ride — Providential  deliverance — We  know  not  when 
we  do  most  good — Close  of  the  year — Cost  of  living— Blessed  hope-  -63 

CHAPTER    V. 

BRANDON  CIRCUIT  —  FIRST  TEAR. 
Size  of  the  circuit — Rev.  T.  Madden — British  oppression — Interview  with 
Major  Powell — American  tories — Sentiments  respecting  the  war — Evils 
of  war — Anticipation  of  universal  peace — Irreligious  tendency  of  the 
times — Mount  Holly — Long  rides — Kind  friends — Pi ttsford— State  of 
religion — Want  of  meeting-houses — Brandon  village — Leister — Judge 
Olin — Methodist  polity — Rev.  S.  Draper — An  incident — Conference — 
Elected  and  ordained  deacon — A  spoiled  preacher — Humility  desired  •  75 

CHAPTER    VI. 

BRANDON     CIRCUIT SECOND    YEAR. 

A  new  colleague — What  the  "big-head"  did— Hard  circuits  not  shunned — 
New  Haven,  Vermont — Route  to  East  Bay — Rev.  Air.  W.,  and  deacon 
M. — Colloquy — Sudbury — First  sermon — Advantage  of  good  lungs — 
The  good  class-leader — The  Plague — Controversy  not  desirable — Happy 


CONTENTS.  y 

year — Conference  in  New  York  city — Preaching — City  and  country 
Methodists — Oneness  of  Methodism — Conference  business — Liberality 
of  "  mine  host  " Page  86 

CHAPTER    VII. 

CHARLOTTE    CIRCUIT — TWO    YEARS. 

Generosity  of  Major  H. — Bad  roads — No  house  rented — Goods  stored 
under  a  shed — Infidel  physician — His  skepticism  learned  in  College — 
A  great  mistake — The  appropriate  work  of  the  Church — Importance  of 
Christian  education — Infidel  Doctor  awakened — His  deep  sorrow — His 
conversion — Happy  change — His  subsequent  course — Field  for  useful- 
ness— Start  to  camp  meeting,  on  Brandon  circuit — Became  sick  on  the 
road — Long  affliction — Battle  of  Plattsburg — Incidents  of  the  contest — 
A  glorious  victory — The  battle  of  life — The  final  triumph — Methodism 
on  the  circuit— Conference  in  Albany — Ordained  elder — Dr.  Phoebus' 
sermon — Return  to  the  circuit — Rev.  N.  White — Starksboro — Twin 
brothers — Novel  call  to  settle  as  pastor — Reply— Changes — Perma- 
nency of  Methodist  doctrines — Methodist  Church  government  not  op- 
pressive, to  ministers  or  members — Close  of  the  term  of  service — Power 
of  Gospel  truth 95 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

BRANDON    CIRCUIT,     AGAIN TWO    YEARS 

Move  to  Hubbardston — Rev.  J.  Byington — Poultney — New  Appointment — 
The  privilege  of  singing — An  interesting  scene — Young  converts — 
Enticed  to  join  the  Baptists — Return  with  their  parents — Locked  out 
of  the  school-house — An  unconverted  friend — Better  days — Cold,  dry 
season — Scarcity  of  food — A  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  in  Sudbury — 
The  wicked  want  prayer  in  time  of  danger — Illustration — Close  of  the 
year — Quarterly  meeting — Eloquent  preaching — Conference  at  Middle- 
bury,  Vermont — Preaching  of  Bishops  M'Kendree,  George,  and  Dr. 
Emory — Return  to  the  circuit — Rev.  James  Cowl — Manner  of  labor- 
Power  of  religion — Exhortation  to  the  reader — Prosperous  year — Mount 
Holly — Interview  with  a  Predestinarian — Common  source  of  error- 
Fatal  reasoning  from  Calvinistic  premises — The  right  spirit 103 

CHAPTER    IX. 

POWNAL    CIRCUIT  —  TWO    YEARS. 

The  Rev.  Jacob  Hall — Hoosack — Petersburg — Father  joins  the  Method- 
ists— Oldest  brother  a  local  preacher — Pownal  society — Williamstown, 
Massachusetts — Presbyterian  tax-law — Charged  with  preaching  Calvin- 


10  CONTENTS. 

ism — Ignorance  respecting  Methodism — Colloquy  on  Baptism — Power 
of  early  impressions — Close  of  the  year — Friendly  greetings — Manner 
of  traveling  to  conference — The  Rev.  N.  Levings — Rev.  D.  Ostrander — 
Presiding  eldership — Difficulty  of  dispensing  with  the  office— Quarterly 
meeting  at  Adams's  Koch — An  extraordinary  sermon — Natural  and  gra- 
cious ability  contrasted — A  Colloquy — A  funeral  sermon — The  Rev.  Mr. 
D. — Conversations  on  Baptism— Play  upon  a  word — Rev.  Mr.  S.  preach- 
ing that  we  are  under  obligation  i :o  do  what  we  can  not  do— Why  record 
familiar  conversations? — Camp  meeting — Its  results  —  Conversion  of 
a  son— His  subsequent  life  and  death — Blessed  hope — Close  of  the 
year Page  124 

CHAPTEE    X. 

CAMBRIDGE     CIRCUIT  —  FIRST    YEAR. 

Move  to  Cambridge — Irish  members — Quotation  from  Rev.  Bishop  Hed- 
ding  —  Father  Baker,  as  class-leader  —  Model  financier  —  Rev.  D.  J. 
Wright — Temptation — Self-examination — Conviction  of  the  necessity  of 
holiness — Nature  of  this  conviction — Seeking  full  redemption — Earn- 
est struggle — Continuous  seeking  —  Increasing  joy  —  Fort  Edward  — 
Sandy  Hill— Wrestling  with  God — Assault  of  the  enemy — Tempta- 
tion resisted — Faith  prevails — Melting,  overpowering  joy — Profession 
of  perfect  love — Exhortation  to  holiness — Sore  affliction — Loss  of  a 
daughter — Deep  sense  of  bereavement — The  doctrine  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead  becomes  precious — Revival  of  the  work  of  holiness — 
Enemies  to  the  doctrine — Paul's  profession — The  doctrine  of  Christian 
perfection  defined  and  defended  —  Objection  answered  —  Source  of 
light— Prayer  for  holiness — Close  of  the  year 144 

CHAPTEE    XI. 

CAMBRIDGE    CIRCUIT SECOND    YEAR. 

Returned  without  a  colleague — Old  friends — Controversy  not  unneces- 
sary— Character  of  pioneer  preachers — Methodism  not  yet  understood — 
Success  in  counteracting  prejudices — Conversion  of  a  rigid  Calvinist — ■ 
Brother  King  and  the  minister — Reason  and  faith — Brother  King  and 
Judge  R. — Conversation  with  the  Judge — Infant  salvation — Judge  R. 
converted — Skeptical  men,  with  pious  wives — Inspiration  of  the  Scrip- 
tures proved  by  prophecy — Incongruities  of  infidels — Two  sermons  in 
the  Baptist  Church — Advocates  for  perseverance — Argument  from  the 
parable  of  the  leaven  hid  in  meal — Spiritual  enjoyment— Hinderance  to 
the  work  of  conversion — An  incident — The  grace  of  Christ  better  than 
Popish  absolution — Perilous  situation — Providential  preservation — Close 
of  the  year — Cheering  hope 163 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER    XII. 

BEEN    CIRCUIT  —  TWO    YEARS. 

An  unexpected  appointment — Rev.  H.  Ames — First  dissatisfaction — Un- 
comfortable quarters — Move  to  Rensselaerville — Reconciled  to  the  field 
of  labor — Prostrate  condition  of  the  circuit — Indications  of  good — 
Middletown — Calvinistic  opposition — A  short  address — Revival  of  Re- 
ligion —  Scoharrie  —  A  converted  pugilist  —  Preacher's  body-guard  — 
General  prosperity — Close  of  first  year — Interview  with  Bishop  George — 
Returned — New-Light  preacher — His  zeal  in  propagating  Unitarian- 
ism — Manner  of  preaching  against  the  Deity  of  Christ — Proposed 
reply — Excitement — Sermon  on  John  i,  1 — Result — Pastoral  visiting 
with  the  unconverted — A  fiery  woman — Her  conversion — The  Glass- 
works— "  I  glory  in  the  water  " — A  rigid  Calvinist — Infant  damna- 
tion— Number  of  the  elect — Revolutionary  soldier  and  the  "  tithing- 
man  " — Better  been  preaching  the  Gospel — The  fullness  and  freeness 
of  the  grace  of  Christ — Close  of  the  year Page  179 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

KINGSTON  CIRCUI  T — T  WO  YEARS. 
Satisfactory  appointment  —  Kingston — Hard  place  for  Methodism— Rev. 
John  Kennedy — The  settled  minister — Preacher  from  Long  Island — 
Extent  of  the  atonement — Marbletown — Impertinent  young  man  re- 
proved— Baptists  —  The  example  of  Christ — Incidental  circumstances 
not  essential  to  Christian  ordinances — Preparations  for  conference  which 
are  important — Close  of  first  year — Returned  to  the  circuit — Rev.  F. 
W.  Smith — Move  to  Saugerties — Keeping  boarders— Conclude  to  move 
to  Ohio— Economy  practiced — The  work  on  the  circuit — Glass-works 
appointments — Rough  country — "Want  of  energy — Poverty  and  riches — 
Attachment  to  the  people — Good  hope. 211 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

MOVE  WES  T — L  O  C  A  T  E — E  MPLOYED  BY  THE  ELDER. 

Conference  in  New  York — Interesting  time. — Granted  a  supernumerary 
relation — Bishop  George — His  opinion  of  Ohio — Farewell— Start  west — 
Nazareth  township — The  first  Sabbath  on  the  road — Second  Sabbath- 
Carlisle,  Penn—  Brother  Grifiin— Kind  friends— Third  Sabbath,  spent 
in  the  Mountains — Fourth  Sabbath,  spent  in  Virginia— A  dance — 
Arguments  for  dancing— The  subject  dropped — Manner  of  traveling- 
Reach  Ohio — Route  to  Berkshire — Arrive  at  our  destination — Meeting 
with  friends — First  sermon  in  Ohio— Services  in  demand — Columbus 


12  CONTENTS. 

circuit  quarterly  meeting — Presbyterian  convinced — Mr.  Dustin— Com- 
mence business — Building  a  cabin — Locate — Nominally  a  local  preach- 
er — Camp  meeting — Knox  county  brethren — Regular  appointment — 
Black  Lick  camp  meeting  —  Rev.  S.  Carpenter — Columbus  Quarterly 
meeting — Rev.  C.  Springer — Radical  defection — Employed  on  Fairfield 
circuit— Extent  of  the  work — Healing  the  disaffected— Failure  of  "  Re- 
formers " — Declining  spirituality — Close  of  the  year — Rev.  L.  Sworm- 
stedt's  camp  meeting — Attend  the  Ohio  conference  first  time... Page  221 

CHAPTEE   XV. 

DELAWARE     CIRCUIT  —  ONE    YEAR. 

Readmitted  to  the  traveling  connection— Rev.  S.  P.  Shaw — Rev.  R.  Bige- 
low — Extent  of  Delaware  circuit — Bad  roads — Delaware — Welsh  broth- 
er— Discipline  —  Marion  —  The  strong  man  armed  —  Wyandott  camp 
meeting — Indian  worship — Missionary  spirit — Young  chief — Indian  civ- 
ilization— Camp  meeting  on  Delaware  circuit — Close  of  the  year — Con- 
ference in  Lancaster — Bishop  Soule — Rev.  A.  W.  Elliott — Appointed 
to  Pickaway  circuit — Death  of  brother  Baird — Building  a  parsonage.. 239 

CHAPTEE    XVI. 

PICKAWAY     CIRCUI  T — T  WO    YEARS. 

Boundary  of  the  circuit — Character  of  the  country — Revival  in  Circle- 
ville — Revival  in  Royalton — Sudden  conversions— Lakin  Chapel — So- 
ciety organized  in  Kingston — Hopewell — Generosity — Lithopolis — Camp 
meetings  on  Adelphi,  Deer  Creek,  and  Hillsboro  circuits  —  Result  of 
the  year's  labor— Conference  in  Mansfield— Bishop  Hedding — A  year 
of  general  prosperity — Rev.  Jacob  Dixon — Rev.  A.  Eddy — Old  father 
Crouse — A  noble  example — Methodizing  new  converts — Dealing  with 
delinquents — A  good  rule — South  part  of  the  circuit — Swiftness  of 
time — Attachment  to  the  people — Close  of  the  second  year 247 

CHAPTEE  XV II. 

DEER    CREEK     CIRCUIT TWO    YEARS. 

Rev.  J.  A.  Reader — Condition  of  the  charge — Old  Town — Right  kind  of 
reception— Helps  and  hinderances  to  pastoral  visiting— Call  from  the 
Baptist  minister — Conversation  on  doctrines— Gracious,  versus  Natural 
ability— Calvinistic  paradox— Folly  of  trying  to  modify  Calvinism- 
Regular  routine  of  duty— A  camp  meeting— Rev.  C.  C.  Lybrand— Wil- 
liamsport — New-Lights— Preaching  on  the  Deity  of  Christ— Rev.  Mr. 
Harvey's  reply— Rejoinder— Power  of  truth— Close  of  the  year— Old 
friends — Reviving  hope 260 


CONTENTS.  13 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

ONE  YEAE  WITHOUT  REGULAR  WORK. 

Request  to  be  left  without  appointment — Conference  hesitates  on  prin- 
ciple— Request  granted — Sickness  and  death  of  oldest  son — Comfort  in 
bereavement — Faith  in  Providence— Quarterly  meeting  in  Columbus, 
Granville,  Newark,  and  Lancaster — Camp  meeting  below  Kingston — A 
year  of  sacrifice Page  269 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

MARIETTA     AND     ADELPHI     CIRCUITS. 

Rev.  M.  P.  Kellogg  —  Marietta — Sanctified  learning  —  Revivals  —  Slave 
case— Spirit  of  freedom — Year  of  affliction — Death  of  another  son — Rev. 
S.  Hamilton — Grace  sufficient — Narrow  escape  from  injury — Appointed 
to  Adelphi — Rev.  B.  Ellis — Dyspeptic — Remedy — Queer  Creek — Crooked 
men — Camp  meeting — Happy  sight — Close  of  the  year 274 

CHAPTER   XX. 

GRANVILLE     CIRCUIT  —  SUPERANNUATED. 

Rev.  J.  T.  Donohoe  —  Parsonage  —  Settlement  of  Granville  —  Congrega- 
tional Church  —  Rev.  J.  Little  —  Baptists  —  Episcopalians  —  Welsh  — 
Methodism  in  Granville — First  and  second  quarterly  meetings — Rev.  J. 
Young — An  incident — Long  and  severe  illness — Near  the  Jordan  of 
death — Blessed  prospect — Convalescent — Happy  meeting  with  friends — 
A  Psalm  of  praise — Conference  in  Columbus — Superannuated — Em- 
ployed in  the  spring — Arrival  of  a  brother — Happy  association — Meet- 
ing in  heaven 282 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

LITHOPOLIS    AND    HEBRON    CIRCUITS. 

Formation  of  Lithopolis  circuit — Rev.  J.  Young — Centenary  subscrip- 
tion— Groveport — How  it  got  its  name — Methodism  flourishing — Camp 
meeting  at  Needles's — Glorious  winding  up — Conference  in  Zanesville — - 
Bishop  Hedding — Political  excitement— Preachers  and  Politics — Party 
strife  detrimental  to  religion  —  Formation  of  Hebron  circuit  —  Old 
friends — Rev.  M.  Fate — Brownsville,  Linnville,  George's  Chapel,  etc.  .291 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

GLANCE    AT    SEVERAL    YEAR  S — C  ONCLUSION. 
Revs.  W.  T.  Hand  and  J.  A.  Bruner— Rev.   R.  0.    Spencer— Granville 
circuit— C.  W.  Lewis— Protracted  meetings— Major  Warren— Blendon 


14  CONTENTS. 

circuit — Rev.  N.  Emory — Westerville  Academy — Millerism — Johnstown 
circuit — Character  of  the  work — Irville  circuit — Hebron  circuit — Rev. 
P.  A.  Mutchner — Rev.  W.  Webster — Thornville  circuit — Rev.  B.  Ellis — 
Camp  meeting — Rev.  J.  M.  Jameson — Exchange  with  Rev.  J.  Gilruth — 
Supernumerary  —  Baltimore  circuit  —  Rev.  A.  B.  See  —  Pickerington 
circuit  —  Rev.  A.  Fleming  —  Rev.  R.  Pitzer — Groveport  circuit — Last 
colleague — Retire  from  the  work — Superannuate — Health  and  employ- 
ment since — Glance  over  the  past — Present  comforts  and  prospects — A 
delicate  subject — Appeal  to  the  Church — Closing  invocation... Page  299 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A  SUPERANNUATE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

EARLY    LIFE    AND    EXPERIENCE. 

I  WAS  born  in  the  state  of  Connecticut,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1783.  My  parents  were  both  pious  members 
of  the  Baptist  Church,  having  experienced  religion 
prior  to  their  marriage.  From  my  earliest  recollec- 
tion my  father  prayed  in  the  family,  and  craved  the 
Divine  blessing  upon  the  food  before  eating.  My 
mother  often  conversed  with  her  children  in  reference 
to  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  and  told  them  of  the 
blessed  Savior — of  his  condescending  love,  and  of 
his  suffering  and  death  to  save  a  guilty  world.  My 
tender  mind  would  often  be  seriously  impressed,  but, 
0,  the  depravity  of  the  heart !  Soon  all  would  be 
forgotten,  and  childish  sports  absorb  my  thoughts. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  day  of  judgment  would 
appear  before  me  in  solemn  array,  and  fill  me  with 
fear  and  trembling.  Once,  when  about  six  or  seven 
years  old,  while  walking  toward  my  father's  barn, 
sudden  thoughts  of  death  and  judgment  flashed  upon 
my   mind,   filling   me  with   such   awful  forebodings, 

that   I   wished    I   had    never    been    born.      Annihi- 

15 


16  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

lation  seemed  desirable  to  me.  Indeed,  I  did  wish 
it  possible  to  sink  into  nothing,  in  order  to  avoid 
standing  before  God ;  for  I  knew  myself  to  be  a 
sinner,  and  felt  conscious  that  I  could  not  be  saved 
in  that  condition.  I  now  began  to  form  resolutions 
of  amendment,  frequently  promising  myself  to  do 
better,  but  soon  lost  my  good  desires.  At  length  I 
became  deeply  impressed  with  the  worth  of  my  soul, 
and  determined  to  be  religious,  but  to  allow  no  one 
to  know  it.  This  was  a  stratagem  of  Satan.  He 
suggested  that  I  could  have  religion  and  keep  it 
to  myself;  and,  by  falling  into  this  delusion,  I  once 
more  lost  my  good  impressions.  I  was  not  out- 
wardly immoral,  yet  the  Spirit  often  led  me  to  feel 
that  my  heart  was  wicked. 

I  went  on  in  this  way,  vowing  amendment  and 
breaking  vows,  till  I  was  about  thirteen  years  of  age. 
That  winter  I  was  sent  to  board  with  an  uncle  for 
the  purpose  of  attending  school.  On  one  Sabbath 
day  in  February,  I  attended  Church  with  my  uncle 
and  aunt,  but  thought  only  of  enjoying  the  sleigh 
ride,  having  no  concern  for  the  salvation  of  my  soul. 
The  meeting  was  held  in  a  private  house,  which  was 
crowded  to  overflowing.  After  the  preaching  was 
over,  I  observed  a  number  of  people  in  another  room, 
including  the  minister,  my  father — who  was  deacon 
in  the  Church — and  many  other  prominent  members; 
and  out  of  curiosity  I  crowded  in.  The  room  was 
quite  full,  the  young  people  standing  on  the  benches 
next  to  the  wall,  all  weeping ;  while  near  the  minister, 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  17 

a  man  stood  up  talking  and  crying  as  if  nearly 
overcome  with  emotion.  I  looked  round  upon  the 
young  persons  who  were  affected  to  tears,  with  a 
feeling  of  disdain;  and  the  pride  of  my  heart 
prompted  me  to  say  that  I  would  not  stand  up  there 
and  weep  as  they  were  doing  for  all  the  world.  0, 
how  thoughtless  I  then  was !  I  knew  not  what  the 
man  was  talking  about,  nor  why  the  people  wept. 
I  felt  ashamed  for  them.  Afterward  I  learned  that 
God  had  converted  this  man,  and  several  others,  and 
he  was  now  telling  what  great  things  had  been  done 
for  him. 

The  meeting  closed  and  I  went  home,  still  thinking 
nothing  about  seeking  religion,  or  trying  to  serve 
God.  3STo  harassing  views  of  death  and  judgment 
then  obtruded  upon  my  thoughts.  The  next  morn- 
ing, with  my  young  heart  bounding  with  merriment, 
I  went  home  to  my  father's,  and,  as  usual,  went  in 
talking  and  laughing.  My  mother  spoke  kindly  to 
me,  and  said,  "  David,  what  makes  you  so  rude  ? 
Zebulon  and  Polly — my  oldest  brother  and  sister — 
and  all  the  young  people  are  setting  out  to  be  Chris- 
tians, and  I  am  afraid  you  will  be  left  to  go  to  hell 
alone."  Looking  my  mother  full  in  the  face,  I  said, 
"I  would  not  act  so  much  like  salvation!"  This 
was  the  first,  and,  thank  God!  the  last  time  I  ever 
spoke  lightly  of  religion.  My  mother  sighed  and 
lifted  up  her  heart  to  God,  and  with  strong  faith 
invoked  divine  mercy  upon  her  wicked  son.  I 
walked    to   the  door   and    stepped    upon    the   porch, 


18  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

and  just  then  my  mind  was  suddenly  and  powerfully 
impressed  with  the  wickedness  of  the  language  used 
to  my  mother.  Light  from  heaven  flashed  into  my 
guilty  heart,  and  discovered  to  me  the  wretchedness 
of  my  condition  as  a  wicked  sinner.  I  started  for 
the  barn,  and  it  seemed  that  the  earth  would  open 
to  swallow  me  up.  Hell  appeared  to  yawn  beneath 
my  feet.  The  agony  of  my  soul  was  inexpressible. 
Overwhelmed  with  anguish,  I  fell  prostrate  upon  the 
earth,  and  exclaimed,  "  Whatever  others  may  do, 
I  will  plead  for  mercy!" 

My  mind  was  now  made  up  to  wait  for  none  of  my 
companions,  but  to  engage  at  once  in  the  great  work 
of  preparing  to  meet  God.  I  went  back  to  my 
uncle's  a  deeply-convicted  boy,  and  for  four  weeks 
groaned  and  prayed  for  the  pardon  of  my  sins. 
Sometimes  it  appeared  that  there  was  no  mere}7  for 
me ;  sleep  departed  from  my  eyes,  and  I  found  no 
rest  day  or  night.  I  attended  meeting,  but  carried 
my  guilt  with  me  and  carried  it  home  again.  Wher- 
ever I  went  a  load  of  guilt  pressed  me  down.  Bear- 
ing my  hell  about  in  my  own  bosom,  my  daily  prayer 
was,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner;"  "Save, 
Lord,  I  perish."  I  thus  passed  four  weeks,  lacking 
one  day,  in  pleading  and  groaning  for  mercy  and 
pardon,  when,  on  Sabbath  morning, — 0 !  that  blessed 
morning,  I  shall  never  forget  it — I  started  to  go  to 
my  father's,  and  having  gone  perhaps  halfway,  I 
kneeled  by  the  side  of  a  fence  to  ask  God  once  more 
to  pardon  my  sins,  and  then  it  appeared  to  me  that 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  19 

God  frowned  upon  me  from  above,  and  that  hell  was 
ready  to  open  and  receive  me.  I  then  thought  all 
was  lost,  but  perceived  so  clearly  the  sinfulness  of 
my  heart,  and  the  justice  of  God's  law,  that  I  only 
expressed  my  true  feelings  when  I  said,  "Lord, 
if  thou  shouldst  send  me  to  hell,  it  is  nothing  more 
than  I  deserve ;  but  while  sinking  down  to  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  I  will  cry  for  mercy."  Just  at  that 
moment,  I  saw  the  blessed  Jesus,  by  the  eye  of  faith, 
as  clearly  as  with  the  natural  eye — I  saw  his  smiling 
countenance,  the  most  glorious  ever  beheld — and 
heard  him  say  in  my  heart,  "  Young  man,  be  not 
concerned,  thy  sins  are  all  forgiven  thee  !" 

Now  the  gaping  hell  was  closed  beneath — heaven, 
no  longer  brass,  was  opened  to  my  vision — love  filled 
my  heart,  and  an  indescribable  flood  of  glory  over- 
powered my  soul.  My  guilt  was  gone;  the  blood 
of  Jesus  washed  it  all  away,  and  my  poor  heart  was 
made  new.  I  rose  up  and  gazed  upon  the  old  stumps 
in  the  field,  and  they  all  looked  bright  and  cheerful; 
the  little  grove  near  by,  with  branches  waving  in  the 
gentle  zephyr,  seemed  to  praise  God  with  delight. 
My  little  journey  was  resumed  with  a  light  heart, 
while  my  feet  seemed  scarcely  to  touch  the  earth. 
The  earth,  air,  trees,  sky,  sunshine — all  things,  with- 
out and  within  me,  spoke  of  the  goodness  of  my 
Redeemer.  When  I  arrived  at  my  father's  house 
and  went  in,  the  old  kitchen  looked  new ;  the  whole 
family  looked  as  I  had  never  seen  them  before — 
every  thing  looked   new,    and   I   felt  new   all    over. 


20  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

"  Old  things  were  passed  away,  and,  behold,  all  things 
were  become  new." 

But,  notwithstanding  this  delightful  experience,  it 
had  not  yet  occurred  to  me  that  I  was  in  possession 
of  religion ;  the  idea  that  my  soul  was  truly  regen- 
erated and  born  of  God,  had  not  crossed  my  mind ; 
but  I  felt  a  desire  to  pray  again,  and  accordingly  went 
into  a  secret  place  and  fell  down  upon  my  knees  to 
say — and  never  thought  of  saying  any  thing  else — 
"  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner!"  But  when  I 
attempted  to  say  these  words,  ere  I  was  aware  of  it,  I 
said,  "Glory!"  I  was  frightened;  something  seemed 
to  say  to  me,  "  What !  such  a  wretch  as  you  say, 
Glory?"  But  another  "glory"  came,  and  I  felt  ten 
thousand  glories  in  my  soul !  My  next  thought  was, 
"  What  does  all  this  mean  ?"  And  then  it  seemed  to 
me  that  a  voice  from  heaven  said,  "This  morning, 
while  down  yonder  crying  for  mercy,  God  pardoned 
your  sins."  Then  I  felt  the  Spirit  of  God  bearing 
witness  with  my  spirit  that  I  was  a  child  of  God. 
Then  and  there  I  received  the  Spirit  of  adoption, 
whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father ! 

Immediately  I  ran  into  the  house  and  said,  "  Fa- 
ther, can  you  forgive  ?  God  has  forgiven  me,  and 
I've  found  religion  !"  The  manly  face  of  my  father  lit 
up  with  a  smile,  and  with  the  tear  of  joy  starting  from 
his  eye,  he  said,  "David,  I  have  nothing  against  you! 
I  have  ten  thousand  times  more  against  myself  than 
against  you!" 

This  was  about  the  20th  of  March,  A.  D.,  1796. 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  21 

Soon  afterward  my  untutored  mind  sought  to  express 
the  happy  experience  in  verse,  and  I  here  present  a 
few  of  the  lines,  not  for  their  poetic  value,  but 
because  of  their  association  with  my  history  at  this 
interesting  period  of  my  life : 


"And  when  I  rose  up  from  the  place, 
I  thought  I  saw  my  Savior's  face  ; 
My  soul  did  leap,  and  shout,  and  sing, 
And  made  the  heavenly  arches  ring. 
Then  to  my  friends  I  soon  did  go, 
To  tell  what  love  I'd  found  below ; 
And  there  we  met  with  joy  and  peace, 
And  had  one  glorious  Gospel  feast." 


That  day  I  accompanied  my  father  to  Church,  and 
found  it  far  the  happiest  day  of  my  life.  The  old 
meeting-house  and  all  the  people — in  a  word,  the 
whole  world  seemed  entirely  new  to  me.  God  had 
given  me  a  new  heart,  and  every  thing  around  me 
rejoiced  in  the  smile  of  heaven.  0,  how  delightful  the 
worship  of  God !  What  melody  in  the  hymns  of 
praise !  How  precious  the  word  of  truth !  How  sweet 
the  fellowship  of  kindred  minds ! 

A  short  time  after  this,  perhaps  the  next  Sabbath, 
after  the  sermon  closed  I  stood  upon  the  pulpit 
stairs  and  talked  to  the  people  of  the  love  of  Jesus. 
The  house  was  full,  and  my  heart  burned  with  intense 
desire  to  tell  the  congregation  what  God  had  done  for 
my  soul,  and  to  warn  sinners  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  While  inviting  all  to  come  and  taste,  and 
see  how  good  the  Lord  is,   my  soul  was  filled  with 


22  RECOLLECTIONS    OP 

unutterable  happiness ;  and,  though  I  had  never  yet 
heard  those  beautiful  words — 

"  0,  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 

My  great  Redeemer's  praise  ; 
The  glories  of  my  God  and  King, 

The  triumphs  of  his  grace," 

they  express  the  feelings  of  my  heart  at  that  time. 
My  heart  was  deeply  moved  at  the  indifference  of 
those  who  were  slumbering  in  sin.  My  past  life  of 
thoughtlessness  and  folly  now  seemed  wonderfully 
mysterious,  and  my  soul  was  burdened  for  the  con- 
version of  my  young  acquaintances.  I  could  say,  in 
the  language  of  the  poet, 

11 0,  for  a  trumpet  voice, 

On  all  the  world  to  call — 
To  bid  their  hearts  rejoice 
In  him  who  died  for  all : 
For  all,  my  Lord  was  crucified ; 
For  all,  for  all,  my  Savior  died." 

I  shortly  united  with  the  Baptist  Church.  As  be- 
fore stated,  my  parents  were  connected  with  that 
denomination,  and  I  had  no  acquaintance  with  any 
other.  I  had  heard  of  the  Presbyterians,  and  of  the 
Church  of  England,  but  had  not  the  most  distant  idea 
that  there  were  any  Christians  among  them.  About 
all  I  knew  of  these  denominations  was,  that  they 
"sprinkled  babies."  This  was  often  mentioned  by  the 
Baptist  members  in  my  hearing — but  only  in  such  a 
way  as  to  inspire  in  my  heart  a  feeling  of  disgust 
toward  all  that   practiced  it.     Indeed,  the  force   of 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  23 

circumstances  surrounding  me,  at  this  time,  led  me  to 
suppose  there  was  not  a  Christian  in  the  whole  world 
who  was  not  a  Baptist.  I  have  no  remark  to  make 
upon  the  propriety  of  educating  children  to  look  upon 
the  different  Christian  denominations  in  this  light,  but 
only  record  the  fact  as  an  important  item  in  my  early 
experience.  We  were  living  at  this  time  in  Renssellaer 
county,  New  York ;  my  father  having  moved  from 
Connecticut  twelve  years  previous. 

Our  minister  was  not  a  very  popular  preacher, 
though  he  was  a  man  of  strong,  cunning  mind,  pos- 
sessing the  "wisdom  of  the  serpent,"  if  not  the  "harm- 
lessness  of  the  dove."  I  continued  faithful  in  the 
discharge  of  duty  and  was  very  happy  most  of  the 
time,  and  still  exhorted  in  the  Church  nearly  every 
Sabbath.  In  the  township  adjoining  ours  there  was 
a  very  excellent  Baptist  preacher,  and  I  would  fre- 
quently go  over  to  hear  him,  and  sometimes  would 
exhort  the  people  there.  One  Sabbath  I  attended 
his  meeting,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  his  sermon 
arose  and  talked  of  the  love  of  Christ  and  hope  of 
heaven.  I  then  saw  a  little  man  in  the  pulpit  who, 
when  I  ceased  talking,  kneeled  down  and  prayed  with 
great  fervor,  and  most  astonishing  fluency.  After 
the  benediction  was  pronounced,  this  strange  little 
man  came  down,  and,  throwing  his  arm  around  my 
neck,  whispered  in  my  ear,  urging  me  to  be  faith- 
ful. Some  years  after  this,  I  learned  that  the  little 
man  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  Mitchell,  of  the  New  York 
conference. 


.24  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

Happy  would  it  have  been  for  me,  if  I  had  followed 
his  advice !  But  the  pride  of  my  heart  began  to 
struggle,  and  it  soon  became  very  difficult  to  speak  in 
public.  The  cross  became  heavy.  More  self-denial 
was  requisite ;  I  began  to  seek  for  ease,  and,  of  course, 
my  enjoyments  declined.  Sometimes  I  would  take  up 
the  cross,  and  then  the  Lord  blessed  me;  but  some- 
times I  would  shrink  from  duty  and  leave  the  sanctu- 
ary, feeling  badly.  I  was  subject  to  strong  tempta- 
tions; indeed,  my  course  was  exactly  calculated  to 
induce  temptations ;  and  while  in  this  condition,  I 
overheard  a  conversation  between  some  members  of 
the  Church  which  proved  injurious  to  my  spiritual 
comfort.  They  were  speaking  of  the  duty  of  exhort- 
ing in  the  Church;  some  of  them  said  they  could 
exhort  if  they  felt  well,  but  if  not,  they  could  not  suc- 
ceed if  they  tried;  then  one  remarked,  "Yes,  but 
there  is  little  David  Lewis,  he  can  exhort  any  time/' 
The  remark  hurt  me.  I  had  been  thinking,  for  some 
time,  of  giving  up  the  practice,  and  now  the  enemy 
tempted  me  powerfully ;  not  that  the  assault  was  irre- 
sistible— we  have  the  promise  that  no  such  temptation 
shall  befall  us — but  I  entered  into  the  snare,  and  made 
up  my  mind  to  exhort  no  more  !  The  suggestion  was 
thrust  upon  my  mind,  "You  can  be  a  still  Christian 
as  well  as  others;  you  can  pray  in  secret  and  live 
religion,  and  be  admired."  My  mind  instantly  turned 
to  several  who  never  prayed  in  public,  and  were 
highly  esteemed  as  pious,  worthy  members  of  the 
Church.    I  then  said  I  would  never  pray  or  exhort  in 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  25 

public  again,  but  would  pray  in  secret  and  be  a  still 
Christian. 

"  Ten  thousand  baits  the  foe  prepares 

To  keep  the  wandering  heart, 
And  seldom  do  -we  see  the  snares 

Before  we  feel  the  smart." 

So  it  was  with  me ;  for  the  first  time  I  went  into 
secret  to  pray,  after  forming  this  resolution,  but  I 
found  my  relish  for  prayer  was  gone ;  my  access  to 
the  throne  of  mercy  was  hindered — darkness  super- 
vened, joy  fled,  and  prayer  became  an  irksome  task.  I 
still  intended  to  live  a  Christian  life,  but  found  so  little 
enjoyment,  that  the  closet  was  almost  entirely  neg- 
lected. Gradually  I  sunk  into  a  lifeless  state,  re- 
taining the  outward  form  of  godliness,  but  destitute 
of  its  power.  But  while  in  this  condition,  every  day 
and  almost  every  hour,  something  seemed  to  be  say- 
ing to  me,  "You  are  doing  wrong."  My  own  heart 
condemned  me  and  kept  me  constantly  in  heaviness ; 
and  I  felt  truly  that  God  was  greater  than  my  heart, 
and  knew  all  things.  I  always  intended,  and  fre- 
quently purposed  to  come  back  to  God ;  and  I  remem- 
ber once  to  have  gone  out  to  pray,  and  fell  upon  my 
knees,  but  dared  not  open  my  mouth  before -the  Lord. 
So  greatly  had  I  sinned  that  my  mouth  was  stopped, 
my  tongue  refused  to  utter  the  anguish  of  my  mind 
in  the  presence  of  the  Holy  One ! 

But  I  was  never  so  far  backslidden  as  to  lose  re- 
spect for  the  house  and  service  of  God ;  his  fear  was 
yet,  in  a  measure,  before  my  eyes  all  the  day,  and  it 


26  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

gave  me  pleasure  to  hear  of  the  prosperity  of  Zion. 
Even  while  under  the  cloud,  while  destitute  of  vital 
communion  with  Christ  in  my  own  heart,  nothing 
would  give  me  more  pleasure  than  to  hear  of  a 
revival  of  religion.  The  report  of  the  outpouring 
of  the  divine  Spirit  would  induce  me  to  feel — 

"  0  that  I  were  as  heretofore, 
"When,  warm  in  my  first  love, 
I  only  lived  my  God  t'  adore, 
And  seek  the  things  above. 

Upon  my  head  his  candle  shone, 

And  lavish  of  his  grace, 
With  cords  of  love  he  drew  me  on, 

And  half  unvail'd  his  face. 

Far,  far  above  all  earthly  things 

Triumphantly  I  rode ; 
I  soar'd  to  heav'n  on  eagles'  wings, 

And  found  and  talk'd  with  God. 

Where  am  I  now  ?    From  what  a  hight 

Of  happiness  cast  down  ! 
The  glory  swallow'd  up  in  night, 

And  faded  is  the  crown." 

Yes,  reader,  "  the  glory  was  swallowed  up  in 
night?"  All  was  gloom  and  darkness.  I  knew  there 
was  a  reality  in  religion,  for  I  had  felt  its  power. 
On  eagles'  wings  my  new-born  soul  had  soared  to 
heaven,  and  found  and  talked  with  God !  His  candle 
shane  upon  my  head,  his  love  drew  me  as  with  cords 
in  the  way  of  duty;  far  above  the  glittering  things 
of  earth  my  spirit  rode  in  triumph!  But  from  this 
hight  of  enjoyment,  I  came  down  to  seek  pleasure 
in  the  world.     Vain  effort!     The  world,  all  beautiful 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  27 

and  bright,  with  its  charming  melody  and  fragrant 
flowers,  so  full  of  goodness,  and  teeming  with  the 
rich  blessings  of  heaven,  can  afford  no  pleasure  to  a 
soul  deprived  of  the  favor  of  God.  0,  the  bitterness 
of  backsliding!  Father  of  everlasting  grace,  pity 
all  who  feel  it !  Dear  reader,  beware  of  the  neglect 
of  duty.  You  can  not  enjoy  religion  without  watch- 
ing unto  prayer.  In  order  to  maintain  the  life  of 
godliness,  you  must  keep  the  great  end  of  life  in 
view,  feel  that  you  are  not  your  own,  live  not  to 
self,  but  to  Christ.  Regularly  retire  into  some  se- 
cret place  and  pour  out  your  soul  in  prayer.  If  you 
feel  but  little,  go  the  oftener;  press  your  suit  before 
the  throne,  remembering  that  Christ  enjoins  importu- 
nity; and  let  no  day  pass  without  a  new  consecration 
to  God.  If  you  thus  live — if  you  make  it  your  de- 
light to  commune  with  heaven,  you  shall  prove  the 
deep  meaning  of  St.  Paul's  words,  "I  am  crucified 
with  Christ :  nevertheless,  I  live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me :  and  the  life  that  I  now  live  in  the  flesh 
is  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and 
gave  himself  for  me."  You  will  then  answer  the  end 
of  your  creation,  glorify  God  in  your  body  and  spirit, 
which  are  his,  live  and  die  happy,  and  possess  the 
kingdom  with  the  city  which  hath  foundations,  whose 
builder  and  maker  is  God. 

But  to  return.  I  continued  to  wander  in  this  back- 
slidden state  for  several  years — all  the  time  an  ac- 
ceptable member  of  the  Church,  and  looked  upon  by 
others  as  a  good  Christian — yet  feeling  conscious  that 


28  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

my  soul  was  barren  and  desolate,  having  long  since 
ceased  to  bring  forth  the  fragrant  fruits  of  the  Spirit. 
But  I  was  approaching  a  new  epoch — a  turning  point 
in  my  history,  to  which  I  look  back  with  peculiar 
interest.  I  went  down,  one  Sabbath  day,  to  hear  the 
minister  in  the  adjoining  township,  to  whom  I  have 
referred,  and,  in  company  with  two  young  men  of  my 
acquaintance,  started  toward  home.  But,  instead  of 
going  directly  home,  being  full  of  glee,  we  rode  on 
till  we  came  to  Milltown,  rode  up  into  the  place,  and, 

seeing  a  crowd  collected  about  the  house  of ,  we 

were  soon  in  their  midst,  and  found  that  there  was 
some  one  preaching  in  the  house.  I  stood  near  an 
open  window,  and  soon  found  myself  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  discourse.  The  preacher  was  dwelling 
on  the  atonement  of  Christ,  its  fullness  and  freeness, 
and  the  agency  of  man  in  availing  himself  of  its  rich 
provisions.  The  subject  fixed  my  attention,  and  I 
listened  to  every  word  with  the  greatest  eagerness, 
not  doubting  that  the  stranger  was  a  true  embassador 
of  Jesus  Christ.  I  believed  every  word  he  uttered, 
though  brought  up  to  believe  in  a  limited  atonement — ■ 
or,  at  least,  in  a  Church  that  taught  the  doctrine  of 
a  limited  atonement,  and  denied  the  agency  of  man  in 
the  attainment  of  salvation.  In  a  word,  I  had  been 
taught  the  doctrines  of  unconditional  election  and 
reprobation,  but  could  never  believe  them.  I  had 
even  held  some  little  disputes  on  these  points;  but 
my  mind  was  beclouded.  I  stood  in  need  of  light; 
for  it  was   plain   to   me   that   there  was   something 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  29 

unsound  in  the  teachings  of  the  Church  in  relation 
to  these  doctrines,  but  I  could  not  sufficiently  compre- 
hend the  subject  to  tell  precisely  where  the  difficulty 
was.  But  in  this  reverend  gentleman's  discourse,  the 
Gospel  method  of  salvation  by  grace  through  faith, 
was  opened  to  my  mind  and  made  so  plain  that  I 
wondered  every  one  did  not  embrace  it.  His  remarks 
were  Scriptural,  lucid,  and  convincing.  As  I  listened, 
a  thrill  of  pleasure  ran  through  my  heart.  I  was 
instructed,  amazed,  captivated.  The  divine  simplicity 
of  this  truly-evangelical  sermon  charmed  my  soul. 
The  preacher  was  Rev.  Joseph  Mitchell,  the  little 
man  once  before  referred  to,  who  put  his  arm  around 
my  neck,  and  urged  me  to  be  faithful ! 

This  was  the  first  Methodist  sermon  I  ever  heard. 
At  the  close  of  the  discourse,  some  of  the  people 
came  out,  and,  forgetting  my  companions,  I  crowded 
in.  The  preacher  stepped  up  on  a  bench  and  com- 
menced singing  that  beautiful  hymn,  "  Jesus,  my  all, 
to  heaven  is  gone."  I  stepped  up  by  his  side  so  as 
to  look  into  his  book ;  for  I  had  never  heard  the  words 
before,  and  we  sung  the  hymn  through.  He  then 
whispered  in  my  ear  the  question,  "Do  you  enjoy 
religion?"  My  answer  was  according  to  the  times, 
"I hope  so T 

Rev.  Mr.  Mitchell  then  said,  "  I  am  now  going  to 
prophesy:  God  is  about  to  revive  his  work  here — we 
shall  soon  have  a  reformation  in  this  place.  Now,  if 
you  have  any  old  backslidden  Baptists  in  this  region, 
they  will  be  the  first  to  oppose  the  work."     He  left 


30  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

another  appointment,  came  round  in  four  weeks,  and 
God  did  revive  his  work ;  sinners  were  awakened  and 
converted  to  God.  I  attended  the  meetings,  and  felt 
the  hardness  of  my  heart  giving  way  ;  I  began  to  sigh 
and  groan  for  my  forfeited  peace ;  my  hidden  sorrow 
burst  forth  in  gushing  tears.     Then  could  I  say — 

"  0  God,  thou  art  my  home,  my  rest, 
For  which  I  sigh  in  pain ; 
How  shall  I  'scape  into  thy  breast  ? 
My  Eden  how  regain  1" 

Thank  God!  I  did  not  sigh  in  vain.  I  now  discov- 
ered all  the  follies  of  my  backslidden  life,  felt  deeply 
sensible  of  my  ingratitude,  promised  the  Lord  in 
humility  to  perform  every  known  duty,  pleaded  earn- 
estly the  prayer  of  the  humbled  Psalmist,  "Restore 
unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation,  uphold  me  with  thy 
free  Spirit,"  and,  adding  the  Psalmist's  vow,  "Then 
will  I  teach  transgressors  thy  ways,  and  sinners  shall 
be  converted  unto  thee,"  I  fully  consecrated  myself 
to  his  service,  feeling  that,  living  or  dying,  I  would  be 
the  Lord's.  Thank  Heaven!  like  the  first  approach 
of  morning,  light  began  to  dawn  upon  my  soul,  and 
it  continued  to  shine  more  and  more  till  every  cloud 
was  dispelled,  and  the  full  beams  of  the  sun  of  right- 
eousness poured  down  upon  my  heart  —  scattering 
darkness,  doubt,  fear,  and  sorrow,  and  filling  my  mind 
with  the  peace  of  God  that  passeth  all  understanding. 

There  were  other  preachers  on  that  circuit  with 
whom  I  was  much  pleased.  Their  prayers  and  exhor- 
tations interested  me  very  much;   and  I  thought  if 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  31 

• 

their  lives  only  corresponded  with  their  profession,  all 
■would  be  right.  But,  alas  !  it  was  reported  that  they 
were  "black-legs;"  and  every  thing  that  was  bad  was 
said  about  them.  I  was  often  led  to  ask  myself  the 
question,  Can  it  be  possible  that  men  guilty  of  such 
wickedness  as  is  charged  upon  these,  can  pray  as 
they  do?  0,  thou  tongue  of  slander,  what  evil  hast 
thou  wrought!  What  contempt  hast  thou  poured 
upon  the  cause  of  God !  What  deep  injury  hast  thou 
inflicted  on  the  servants  of  Christ !  Truly  thou  art  a 
deadly  poison !  Thou  art  a  fire,  a  world  of  iniquity ! 
Thou  settest  on  fire  the  course  of  nature,  and  art  set 
on  fire  of  hell! 

"  The  dark  villain  who  shall  aim 
To  hlast  a  fair  and  spotless  name ; 
He  steals  a  precious  gem  away — 
Steals  what  both  Indies  can't  repay." 

I  knew  nothing  at  this  time  of  the  economy  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  I  knew  nothing  of  the 
conference,  of  the  annual  examinations  of  character, 
of  the  manner  of  sending  preachers  to  their  fields  of 
labor;  and,  hence,  however  difficult  it  was  to  suppose 
men  capable  of  acting  a  feigned  part  in  such  a  man- 
ner, and  for  such  a  length  of  time,  some  doubts  did 
spring  up  in  my  mind  respecting  these  men  of  God. 
But  still  I  attended  upon  their  ministry,  and  my 
father  would  sometimes  go ;  he*  said  they  were  smart 
men,  but  did  not  preach  the  Gospel.  He  became 
much  offended  at  their  preaching,  but  would  not 
desist  from  hearing  them.     We  would  sometimes  talk 


32  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

together  about  the  subject  matter  of  their  preaching; 
he  violently  opposed  it,  but  I  defended  it  as  well  as  I 
knew  how,  with  much  zeal ;  for,  though  no  thought 
of  joining  the  Methodist  Church  had  yet  entered 
my  mind,  I  dearly  loved  the  doctrines  these  men 
preached,  and  fully  believed  them  to  be  the  doctrines 
of  the  Bible. 

My  oldest  sister  experienced  religion  about  the 
time  of  my  own  conversion,  and,  like  myself,  subse- 
quently lost  her  enjoyments ;  but  now,  by  attending 
these  Methodist  meetings,  she  was  renewed  in  the 
divine  life  and  made  happy.  Being  but  nine  years  of 
age  when  first  converted,  she  was  yet  under  parental 
control,  and  being  desirous  to  join  the  Methodist 
Church,  she  asked  her  father's  consent.  He  peremp- 
torily denied  her  the  privilege  !  After  she  went  out, 
I  interceded  in  her  behalf,  but  he  would  not  consent. 
I  asked  which  he  would  prefer — that  she  should  join 
the  Methodists,  and  live  a  religious  life,  or  remain 
where  she  was  and  lose  her  religion  ?  He  said  there 
was  no  need  of  losing  her  religion.  I  insisted  that 
she  would  surely  backslide,  if  she  did  not  join  the 
Methodist  Church ;  and  so  she  did ;  but,  after  she 
was  of  age,  she  was  again  renewed — she  then  imme- 
diately joined  the  Church  of  her  choice,  and  lived 
and  died  a  flaminir  Christian. 


"  Glory  to  God  on  high  !  the  Christian  dies  ! 
Dies  from  the  world,  and  quits  the  earthly  clod : 
Dies,  and  receives  the  crown  hy  Christ  bostow'd  ; 
Dies  into  all  the  life  and  plenitude  of  God." 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  33 


CHAPTER    II. 

JOIN   THE  METHODISTS  — COMMENCE  PREACHING. 

I  continued  to  attend  the  Methodist  meetings,  and 
was  more  and  more  pleased  with  them.  There  I 
found  congenial  spirits — Christians  baptized  with  the 
Spirit  of  love,  whose  warm  hearts,  and  generous  im- 
pulses overstepped  the  narrow  limits  of  sectarian  dis- 
tinctions, and  embraced  with  brotherly  affection,  all 
true  disciples  of  the  risen  Lord.  Embracing  a  Gospel 
that  offered  eternal  life  to  all  men  on  equal  terms, 
proclaiming  as  a  fundamental  truth  that  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons,  delighting  in  the  belief  that 
Jesus  Christ,  by  the  grace  of  God,  tasted  death  for 
every  man,  and  aiming  at  nothing  less  than  the  sub- 
jugation of  the  world  to  the  reign  of  Messiah,  they 
evinced  a  nobler  charity  and  a  purer  zeal  than  any 
people  I  had  ever  known.  Their  simplicity  of  man- 
ner, fervor  in  prayer,  and  love  for  the  souls  of  sin- 
ners for  whom  the  Savior  died,  rendered  their  associ- 
ations agreeable  to  me,  and  tended  greatly  to  allay 
my  fears  in  reference  to  those  who  preached  for  them 
the  word  of  life,  and  on  whose  reputation  the  poison- 
ous breath  of  slander  had  fallen. 

But  our  minister  was  violently  opposed  to  the 
Methodists — their  success  gave  him  much  uneasiness, 


34  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

and  he  hurled  upon  them  unmeasured  denunciation. 
He  frequently  gave  out  that,  on  such  and  such  Sab- 
baths, he  would  expose  their  doctrines,  and  these  an- 
nouncements were  understood  as  intimations  that  his 
"big  gun  "  was  to  be  fired  off.  But  it  would  prove  to 
be  charged  with  invective  and  calumny.  The  explo- 
sion would  be  great  enough;  but,  like  all  over- 
charged artillery,  the  most  fearful  execution  was  pro- 
duced at  home.  In  other  words,  his  vituperation  re- 
bounded, and  fell  with  crushing  weight  upon  his  own 
head.  In  his  over-zealous  efforts  to  counteract  Meth- 
odism, he  sunk  himself  in  the  estimation  of  the  better 
part  of  community,  and  saw  his  own  Church  dwindle 
away  and  fall  to  rise  no  more  in  that  place.  This  is 
the  inevitable  result  of  blindly  fighting  the  truth. 
But  the  Methodists  increased  in  numbers  and  influ- 
ence, bought  a  lot,  built  a  house  of  worship,  and  con- 
tinued to  prosper  in  spite  of  the  detractions  of  their 
enemies. 

On  the  third  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord,  1802,  I  was  united  in  the  holy  bonds  of  matri- 
mony with  Miss  Desire  Steward — my  present  wife, 
who  from  that  time  to  this  has  been  my  companion  in 
labor,  and  sharer  of  my  joys  and  sorrows.  With  the 
ambition  of  young,  hopeful  hearts,  we  set  out  in  life 
with  fair  prospects  and  high  expectations.  Possess- 
ing good  health  and  willing  hands,  we  anticipated 
the  acquisition  of  a  "  competency "  of  this  world's 
good,  not  doubting  that,  with  the  blessing  of  Heaven, 
we  should  spend  our  days  in  comparative  quiet,  with- 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  35 

out  witnessing  much  of  the  bustle  and  turmoil  of  the 
world  in  its  heated  strife.  How  little  did  we  know 
of  the  ways  of  Providence  ! 

I  entered  into  business,  but  did  not  succeed  well. 
And  no  wonder  that  Heaven  frowned,  for  I  rented  a 
tavern  stand,  opened  public  house,  set  up  a  "bar" 
and  sold  rum  !  This  was  then  regarded  an  honorable 
business,  and  professors  of  Christianity  would  pour 
out  the  "  liquid  fire  "  for  gain,  as  freely  as  they  would 
perform  any  other  labor.  But,  thank  God !  light  has 
been  poured  upon  the  accursed  traffic,  revealing  in 
hideous  colors  the  monstrous  iniquity  attending  it,  so 
that  it  is  now  expunged  from  the  list  of  pursuits  in 
which  Christians  can  engage.  "While  thus  employed, 
I  lost  my  enjoyments  in  religion,  and  lost  several 
hundred  dollars  in  money;  I  closed  the  business  in 
the  year  1806. 

During  that  same  year  we  moved  to  Plattsburg, 
bought  land,  and  went  to  work  in  the  woods.  In  a 
short  time  I  cleared  off  a  spot  of  ground,  built  a 
house,  and  moved  into  it.  Now  we  felt  happy  to  find 
ourselves  settled  on  a  little  farm  of  our  own,  though 
it  was  in  a  rude  state,  the  settlement  being  new.  Our 
neighbors  were  very  kind,  as  is  generally  the  case  in 
a  newly-settled  country,  but  they  were  not  religious. 
I  still  frequented  Methodist  meetings,  but  had  no 
thought  of  uniting  with  the  Church.  Why,  I  can 
scarcely  tell ;  for  I  believed  their  doctrines,  and  had 
enjoyed  myself  better  in  their  meetings  than  any- 
where else ;  but  the  power  of  early  education,  preju- 


36  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

dice  and  association,  is  very  great.  Being  reared  in 
the  very  lap  of  the  Baptist  Church,  I  had  not  yet 
deliberately  looked  upon  my  Church  relations  as  an 
open  question,  admitting  of  choice  or  preference.  I 
delighted,  however,  to  converse  with  pious  Method- 
ists, especially  in  reference  to  camp  meetings.  Their 
reports  of  the  displays  of  divine  power  witnesssed  by 
them  on  these  occasions,  excited  me  with  emotions  of 
peculiar  interest — they  struck  my  mind  as  in  perfect 
accordance  with  the  Scriptures. 

After  spending  some  months  in  this  place,  the  sub- 
ject of  my  Church  connection  was  suddenly  brought 
to  my  view  in  a  different  light  from  what  it  had  ever 
been  before.  While  chopping  in  the  woods,  medi- 
tating on  the  goodness  of  God,  and  the  privileges  of 
Christian  fellowship,  the  question  rushed,  upon  my 
mind,  as  if  uttered  by  a  voice,  "  Of  all  branches  of 
the  Church,  which  do  you  think  the  most  Scrip- 
tural?" My  mind  responded  as  if  by  spontaneous  im- 
pulse, "  The  Methodist."  Following  this  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, the  following  questions  and  answers  sprang 
up  in  my  mind  :  "  With  what  people  do  you  best  en- 
joy yourself?"  "The  Methodists."  "  Why  then  do 
you  not  join  them?"  "Because  my  relations  are  all 
opposed  to  them — the  world  despises  them,  the  devil 
hates  them,  and  the  pride  of  my  heart  keeps  me 
back."  "Did  you  not  promise  God  that  if  he  would 
heal  your  backslidings,  you  would  perform  every 
known  duty?"  "I  did."  "Well,  now  God  has 
shown  you  that  it  is  your  duty  to  join  the  Methodist 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  37 

Church,  has  he  not?"     "  Truth,  Lord,  and  if  my  life 
is  spared,  I  will  join  that  Church  to-morrow  !" 

I  threw  down  the  ax,  went  to  the  house,  and  told 
my  wife  that  I  was  going  to  Peru  the  next  day — 
this  being  Saturday — to  join  the  Methodists.  She 
expressed  much  surprise,  and  remonstrated  strongly 
against  it ;  said  she  would  rather  follow  me  to  my 
grave,  etc. ;  but  I  was  decided  in  my  course.  She 
then  tried  another  method :  "I  would,"  said  she,  "join, 
the  Church  with  old  T.  and  J!"  These  were  two 
poor  men  in  the  Church;  T.  was  an  excellent,  pious 
man ;  but  J.  was  not  what  he  should  have  been.  My 
wife  was  not  only  affectionate,  but  pious ;  and  yet  her 
prejudices  betrayed  her  into  these  remarks,  so  unlike 
herself.  And  this  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  illustration 
of  the  feelings  which  other  denominations  enter- 
tained toward  the  Methodists.  They  felt  disgraced 
if  their  friends  joined  them.  I  then  told  my  wife 
that  she  could  have  her  liberty  in  relation  to  the  mat- 
ter, and  I  would  take  mine ;  that  she  could  have  a 
horse  and  go  to  her  meetings  whenever  she  wished ; 
that  if  she  would  go  with  me  to  meeting,  I  would 
wait  on  her  as  I  had  ever  done ;  but  if  she  preferred 
going  to  her  own,  we  would  go  together  as  far  as  the 
road  would  permit,  and  if  we  could  fall  in  company 
on  our  way  home,  I  would  be  pleased  to  assist  her  as 
formerly ;  but  to  decline  joining  the  Methodists,  I 
could  not.  It  was  my  duty  to  join  them  several 
years  ago,  but  my  friends  were  opposed  to  them,  and 
the  pride  of  my  heart  had  hindered  me,   etc.     We 


38  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

both  wept,  but  nothing  could  move  me  from  my 
purpose.  I  did  go  the  next  day,  and  made  appli- 
cation to  be  received  into  the  Church,  and,  thank 
God !  with  all  my  unworthiness,  they  accepted  me 
and  received  me  cordially  to  their  Christian  fellow- 
ship. This  occurred  on  the  13th  day  of  June,  A.D. 
1807 ;  and  in  October  following,  my  wife  joined 
with  me,  and  from  that  time  we  went  on  hand  in 
hand  praising  God. 

Our  place  of  meeting  was  six  miles  distant,  but  I 
was  absent  only  two  Sabbaths  in  twelve  months — 
beside  attending  prayer  meeting  nearly  every  Wed- 
nesday. These  were  blessed  days  to  my  soul !  God 
was  with  us  in  very  deed.  As  before  remarked,  our 
neighbors  were  unusually  kind,  but  cared  nothing 
for  religion.  When  they  heard  I  had  joined  the 
Methodists,  they  said  they  were  astonished  that  I 
should  be  so  deluded.  They  were  ignorant  of  Meth- 
odism, and  unacquainted  with  Methodist  people ;  they 
had  heard  something  about  them,  but  nothing  good. 
A  scene  of  persecution  ensued — manifested  princi- 
pally in  petty  annoyances.  In  those  days  the 
Methodists  held  meeting  every  holiday  —  would 
that  it  were  so  now — and,  of  course,  myself  and 
family  were  there.  One  of  my  neighbors  sent  to 
my  house  on  Christmas  day  for  a  pair  of  bullet 
molds,  and  was  highly  offended  because  we  were 
not  at  home.  On  New- Year's  day  he  sent  again,  as 
he  wanted  to  go  to  a  shooting-match — but  found  the 
house  locked.     He  was  now  more  angry  than  before, 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  o\) 

and  said  he  "  wished  to  God  the  house  was  burned 
down,  and  Lewis  burned  up  in  it."  He  said  we 
were  eternally  gone  to  meeting,  and  would  come  to 
nothing. 

And  just  here  permit  me  to  record  a  remarkable 
instance  of  prayer  answered.      On  Sabbath  night  I 

prayed   earnestly   for  this  neighbor,   Mr.  S ,  and 

asked  God  to  convict  him  so  that  he  could  neither 
eat,  sleep,  nor  work,  till  he  sought  religion.  On 
Monday,  I  made  the  same  request — several  times 
during  the  day  retiring  into  the  grove,  and  pleading 
with  God  to  send  his  Holy  Spirit  and  awaken  Mr. 
S to  a  sense  of  his  sins,  and  trouble  his  con- 
science so  that  he  could  neither  eat,  sleep,  nor  work. 

On  Tuesday  Mr.  S came  to  where  I  was,  and 

said  that  he  had  been  up  to  his  father-in-law's  to 
do  some  work,  but  felt  so  badly  that  he  could  not 
get  through  with  it.  He  told  his  father-in-law  the 
state  of  his  mind,  and  the  old  gentleman  replied  that 
he  had  been  under  conviction  for  six  months.   "But," 

said  Mr.  S ,  "  I  know  I  can  not  live  in  this  state 

six  weeks  ;  why,  I  can  neither  eat,  sleep,  nor  work  !" 

I  said  to  him,  "Mr.  S ,  your  father-in-law  might 

have  been  under  conviction  six  months,  but  not  such 
as  yours — you  are  on  the  margin  of  conversion; 
and  if  you  will  go  with  me  into  the  grove,  we  will 
engage  in  prayer,  and  God  will  pardon  your  sins." 
"  0,"  said  he,  "  Mr.  Lewis,  it  can't  be  possible  that 
so  much  filth  can  be  purged  away  in  so  short  time  !" 
"  Come  with  me   and  I  will  pray  for  you,"  said  I, 


40  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

"  and  God  will  have  mercy  on  your  soul."  We 
walked  together  into  the  grove,  and  he  kneeled  down 
with  me.  This  encouraged  me  much,  for  I  had 
heard  it  remarked  as  an  old  saying,  that  if  you  could 
get  a  Yankee  on  his   knees  he  was  half  converted. 

I   commenced    praying,    and  Mr.   S manifested 

deep  feeling.  I  continued  to  plead  with  God  in  his 
behalf,  and  he  groaned  and  sobbed.  His  heart  was 
now  broken  up,  and  he  poured  forth,  in  the  language 
of  confession  and  contrition,  most  bitter  lamentations 
for  past  follies,  with  earnest  supplications  for  mercy 
and  pardon  in  the  name  of  the  precious  Redeemer, 
whom  he  had  so  often  slighted.  And,  0,  the  riches 
of  mercy !  God  heard  his  penitent  desire,  pardoned 
his  sins,  sent  down  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  filled  him 
with  happiness,  and  he  went  home  rejoicing  in  hope 
of  eternal  life. 

I  now  prevailed  on  the  preacher  to  make  an  ap- 
pointment at  my  house.     He  came  and  preached  for 

us,    then    came    again    and  preached  in  Mr.  S 's 

barn,  and  soon  formed  a  class,  giving  me  the  class- 
book.  The  good  work  went  on  gloriously,  so  that 
in  a  short  period  we  had  a  good  society  of  forty 
members.  This  society  was  formed  in  the  summer 
of  1808. 

About  this  time,  my  mind  was  greatly  exercised 
in  relation  to  preaching  the  Gospel.  Indeed,  the 
thought  that  I  must  preach  had  pressed  upon  my 
mind  for  a  long  time,  but  there  appeared  so  many 
hinderances   in    the  way,   that   I   had  not  laid   the 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  41 

matter  seriously  to  heart.  Now,  however,  the  subject 
became  one  of  moving  interest — so  much  so  that  it 
could  not  be  put  off  without  careful  attention,  and 
conscientious  decision.  I  felt  that  my  spiritual  en- 
joyments, my  usefulness,  and  my  temporal  prospects 
were  involved  in  the  question,  to  say  nothing  of  my 
eternal  interests.  Prayerfully  did  I  revolve  the 
question,  "What  shall  I  do?"  To  refuse  positively, 
I  dare  not ;  and  to  undertake  the  great  work  seemed 
impossible.  An  overwhelming  sense  of  my  want  of 
qualification  for  so  important  a  calling,  filled  me 
with  fear  and  trembling.  Having  been  reared  in  a 
new  country,  where  school  advantages  were  scarce, 
my  education  was  defective,  and  my  stock  of  general 
knowledge  necessarily  limited.  My  embarrassment 
was  great.  My  brethren  would  often  pray  that  God 
would  thrust  me  out  to  do  my  duty,  yet  I  felt  con- 
scious that  I  knew  not  how  to  preach.  Moreover,  I 
felt  that  if  I  preached  at  all,  I  must  make  a  business 
of  it,  enter  the  itinerancy  and  devote  my  life  to  the 
work  ;  and  the  thought  of  subjecting  an  affectionate 
wife  and  dear  children  to  the  privations  and  hard- 
ships incident  to  the  circumstances  of  the  family  of  a 
Methodist  traveling  preacher,  was  to  me  very  painful. 
I  knew  not  how  to  go,  and  to  stay  at  the  hazard  of 
disobeying  God,  I  felt  that  I  could  not.  But,  after 
many  severe  mental  conflicts,  my  mind  was  made  up 
that  if  the  Church  would  give  me  license,  I  would  go 
out  into  the  wide  world  and  call  sinners  to  repent- 
ance.    In  the  month  of  March,  1809,  the  preacher — 


42  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

Rev.  Samuel  Draper,  of  the  New  York  confer- 
ence, the  brother  who  took  me  into  the  Church — 
left  the  circuit ;  and  having  previously  licensed  me 
to  exhort,  gave  me  liberty  to  preach,  and  employed 
me  to  fill  the  appointments  on  the  circuit,  till  the 
preachers  should  arrive  from  conference.  The  door 
was  now  fairly  open,  and,  in  the  name  and  strength 
of  God,  I  started  out  to  commence  the  work  which, 
in  the  providence  of  God,  was  to  "  make  my  heart 
rejoice,  and  spend  the  remnant  of  my  days."  I 
completed  my  engagement;  and,  when  conference 
was  over,  there  proved  to  be  a  vacancy  on  the 
Fletcher  circuit,  on  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  which  the  presiding  elder  employed  me  to 
fill  till  the  first  quarterly  meeting,  at  which  time 
the  brother  appointed  from  conference  would  arrive. 
I  attended  quarterly  meeting  on  Saturday,  and 
received  a  regular  license  to  preach,  and  on  Monday, 
started  for  the  circuit. 

My  trials  of  mind  at  this  time  were  very  great. 
The  mingled  emotions  to  which  the  circumstances 
surrounding  me  gave  rise,  kept  me  in  continual 
agitation.  But  while  crossing  the  Lake,  I  strove 
to  give  myself  up  entirely  to  God  and  his  work. 
My  sincere  prayer  to  God  was,  that  he  would  make 
me  useful.  I  lifted  my  heart  to  him,  and  promised 
that  if  he  would  raise  up  one  soul  to  testify  that 
my  labors  had  been  instrumental  in  his  or  her  con- 
version, I  would  travel  all  the  year,  provided  there 
should  be  an  opening.     I  arrived  upon  the    circuit, 


A     SUPERAiNNUATE.  43 

and  found  my  colleague,  Rev.  0.  Sikes,  a  deeply  pious 
man  and  good  preacher.  He  furnished  me  with  a  list 
of  the  appointments.  My  first  one  was  at  the  house 
of  Deacon  Thurston,  on  the  river  Samile,  in  Vermont. 
Sabbath  came,  and,  after  preaching  as  well  as  I  could, 
it  was  suggested  to  me  that  a  thousand  such  sermons 
would  be  of  no  benefit  to  any  one.  Mortified  and 
humbled,  I  would  gladly  have  hidden  myself,  if  it  had 
been  possible;  but  the  class  must  be  met.  Without 
this,  our  work  was  never  considered  done  in  those 
days.  I  proceeded  to  the  afternoon  appointment 
with  my  mind  under  a  cloud,  thinking  of  the  dis- 
grace brought  upon  myself  and  the  cause  of  religion. 
I  prayed  and  wept;  and,  on  coming  round  in  two 
weeks,  found  an  old  lady  happy  in  God,  saying  that, 
under  that  sermon,  she  was  awakened,  and  had  found 
peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  This 
encouraged  my  poor  heart,  and  brought  to  remem- 
brance the  pledge  made  to  God,  that  if  he  would 
raise  up  one  soul  to  testify  that  my  labors  were 
instrumental  in  his  or  her  conversion,  I  would  travel 
the  whole  year,  if  there  should  be  an  opening.  I  felt 
that  God's  seal  was  now  placed  upon  my  humble 
efforts,  and  desired  to  follow  the  leadings  of  his 
providence,  to  whatever  labor  or  sacrifice  he  might 
call  me. 

At  the  first  quarterly  meeting  the  preacher  came 
on,  as  was  expected.  We  had  a  glorious  meeting, 
resulting  in  several  conversions.  The  presiding  elder 
then  took  me  with  him  into  Lower  Canada,  to  travel 


44  EECOLLECTIONS     OF 

with  brother  Whiting  on  Dunham  circuit,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  turning  it  into  a  four  weeks'  circuit.  Here 
I  found  the  country  new,  the  people  poor,  and  fear- 
fully wicked.  I  preached  in  townships  that  had  been 
settled  seven  and  nine  years,  and  never  a  sermon  in 
them  till  that  fall.  The  people  were  very  shy  of  us — 
so  much  so,  that  we  found  some  difficulty  in  holding 
conversations   with  them   respecting  their   souls.      I 

went  into  the  township  of  Stukely  to  Mr.  L 's. 

He  wanted  preaching  at  his  house,  but  his  wife  was 
violently  opposed  to  it.  She  said  she  would  not  har- 
bor the  lazy  Methodist  preachers,  who  were  going 
about  the  country  getting  money  and  picking  people's 
pockets.     I  staid  all  night,  however,  and  conversed 

with  Mr.  L in  reference  to  the  salvation  of  his 

soul — his  wife  retiring  early,  determined  not  to  har- 
bor Methodist  preachers.  The  next  morning — Sab- 
bath— the  people  came  in,  and  I  preached  to  them 
from  2  Corinthians  v,  17 :  "  Therefore,  if  any  man  be 

in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature."     But  Mrs.  L 

shut  herself  up  in  another  room,  determined  not  to 
hear.  We  had  an  intermission,  and  then  preaching 
again.  In  the  afternoon,  I  traveled  through  the 
woods  some  distance,  and  at  night  preached  from, 
"This  man  receiveth  sinners,  and  eateth  with  them." 
Here  the  family  had  no  religion,  but  desired  to  have 
preaching.  They  treated  me  with  so  much  kindness 
that  I  felt  quite  at  home  with  them. 

Thus  I  passed  once  around  the  circuit,  a  stranger 
in  a  strange  land ;  but  God  was  with  me,  the  strength 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  45 

of  my  heart,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble;  and  his 
strong  arm  sustained  me. 

I  was  now  in  the  British  dominions,  and  often  sat 
and  heard  many  hard  things  said  against  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States — the  Government  of  my 
own  beloved,  my  native  land.  This  was  a  source  of 
great  pain  to  me,  but  the  only  alternative  was  to  sub- 
mit and  bear  it.  If  I  should  utter  a  word  of  objec- 
tion against  their  form  of  government,  they  would 
immediately  say,  "You  must  not  talk  so  here;  we 
are  bound  to  inform  against  you." 

On  my  second  round,  the  aspect  of  things  was  more 
pleasing.  I  now  found  some  to  bid  me  welcome  to 
their  houses  with  smiling  faces.     Soon  God  gave  me 

the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  even  Mrs.  L ,  who 

would  not  hear  me  preach  on  the  first  round,  was 
converted,  joined  the  Church,  and  became  an  honored 
mother  in  our  Israel.  Her  house  became  one  of  the 
best  homes  for  the  toiling  itinerant  that  could  be  found 
in  the  country.  But  while  in  this  province,  I  suffered 
extremely  from  the  cold.  I  would  often  sleep  in  open 
cabins  where  the  snow  would  cover  the  bed,  and  with 
too  light  clothing  for  the  season;  sometimes  in  an 
open  loft  where  the  wind  had  full  sweep.  On  the 
older  part  of  the  circuit,  however,  I  found  better 
accommodations;  for  I  found  some  old,  well-tried 
Methodists,  faithfully  serving  God  night  and  day. 
Among  these,  I  may  name  the  Bigelow  family — pa- 
rents of  the  lamented  Russell  Bigelow — a  most  ex- 
cellent family,   and  a  blessed   home   for  the  weary 


46  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

herald  of  the  cross.  Here  were  grandmother,  fa- 
ther, mother,  two  sons,  and  three  or  four  daughters, 
all  pious.  We  would  hold  family  prayer  meeting 
every  time  I  came  to  stop  with  them,  and  I  always 
obtained  an  increase  of  strength.  Here  also  was  a 
family  of  the  name  of  Anderson,  whose  house  was 
open  for  the  preacher.  One  daughter  belonged  to 
the  Church.  She  would  always  hold  family  worship 
when  the  preacher  was  not  present.  I  met  with  her 
a  few  years  ago,  living  in  Springfield,  Ohio.  She  was 
a  widow,  still  holding  fast  her  profession — took  great 
pleasure  in  talking  over  olden  times,  and  relating  the 
dealings  of  God  with  her. 

During  this  year,  I  lost  my  horse ;  then  walked  and 
preached  two  and  three  times  a  day,  for  two  weeks. 
Previous  to  this,  I  had  never  but  once  walked  the  dis- 
tance of  seven  miles  at  one  time.  I  bought  another 
horse,  for  which  I  paid  all  the  money  I  had,  gave  up 
my  watch,  gave  my  note  for  the  balance,  and  hired 
five  dollars  to  bear  my  expenses  home.  We  had  no 
missionary  societies  in  those  days. 

I  remember,  while  on  this  circuit,  preaching  at  a 
brother's  house,  where  I  had  but  little  feeling;  my 
mind  was  beclouded,  and  religious  enjoyments  fled. 
I  had  another  appointment  at  night,  where  a  lady 
belonged  whose  husband  was  greatly  opposed  to  us, 
and  would  not  allow  her  to  attend  the  meetings. 
Several  of  the  friends  started  with  me  to  this  ap- 
pointment, but  I  should  have  preferred  being  alone. 
My  mind  was  much  beclouded.     I  tried  to  think  of 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  47 

some  subject  on  which  to  dwell,  but  all  was  as  dark  as 
midnight.  I  could  think  of  nothing  to  say — the  Bible 
was  a  sealed  book  to  me,  and  my  mind  was  depressed 
with  grief.  I  reviewed  my  past  life,  looked  into  my 
heart,  felt  anxious  to  know  the  cause  of  this  distress- 
ing darkness,  but  could  detect  no  neglect  of  known 
duty,  nor  did  I  realize  any  condemnation.  In  this 
state  of  feeling  I  arrived  at  the  house  where  the  ap- 
pointment was,  retired  to  a  private  room,  fell  upon  my 
knees  in  prayer,  and  pleaded  with  God  for  light — but 
all  was  darkness  before  me.  I  continued  to  wrestle, 
groan,  and  struggle  in  supplication  before  the  Lord, 
till  the  congregation  assembled.  The  people  were 
now  waiting;  the  agony  of  my  soul  was  inexpressi- 
ble ;  but  I  determined  not  to  rise  from  my  knees  till 
God  should  bless  me.  At  length  faith  prevailed,  and, 
suddenly  as  the  spark  from  smitten  steel,  light  flashed 
into  my  heart!  It  seemed  as  though  a  ball  of  celes- 
tial fire  burst  upon  my  head,  and  ran  through  my 
soul !  "  This  man  receiveth  sinners,  and  eateth  with 
them,"  rushed  into  my  mind.  I  rose  up,  entered  the 
room  to  the  presence  of  the  people,  and  said,  "God 
will  let  down  his  power  in  the  congregation ! "  That 
wicked  man,  who  hindered  his  wife  from  attending  her 
meetings,  happened  to  be  present,  and  as  I  uttered 
these  words,  the  power  of  God  struck  his  heart.  I 
preached  with  great  freedom,  and,  after  preaching, 
we  labored  with  this  poor,  convicted  sinner,  till  God, 
for  Christ's  sake,  pardoned  all  his  sins.  We  had  a 
shout  in  the  camp.     "0  come,  let  us  sing  unto  the 


48  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

Lord:  let  us  make  a  joyful  noise  unto  the  Rock  of 
our  salvation." 

I  closed  my  first  year  of  itinerant  labor,  having 
received  toward  supporting  myself  and  family,  con- 
sisting of  my  wife  and  three  children,  the  sum  of 
thirty-six  dollars,  quarterage,  and  about  seventeen 
dollars  given  by  friends  toward  making  up  the  loss 
of  my  horse.  These  were  times  that  tried  men's 
souls  and  bodies  too. 

I  returned  to  the  bosom  of  my  family,  thankful  to 
God  that  our  lives  were  preserved,  and  spent  some 
time  visiting  old  friends,  and  preaching  to  them  the 
Gospel  of  peace.  And  here  let  me  give  glory  to  God 
for  the  good  that  was  done  through  the  instrument- 
ality of  my  feeble  labors.  I  saw  a  large  number  of 
souls  happily  converted  to  God,  and  took  many  into 
the  Church.  Doubtless,  ere  this,  some  of  them  are 
singing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb,  high  up  in 
glory.  Lord,  keep  me  faithful  till  death  releases  me 
from  earth,  that  I  may  meet  them  in  the  glorious 
world  above! 

"  There  is  a  land  where  grief  can  never  come, 
Nor  sorrows  press  the  heavy -laden  heart ; 
There  friends  shall  meet  in  an  eternal  home, 
And  from  each  other  never  more  shall  part." 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  49 


CHAPTER   III. 

FLETCHER  CIRCUIT-UNDER  THE   ELDER. 

At  the  session  of  the  New  York  conference  for  the 
year  1810,  there  was  a  vacancy  left  for  me  on  the 
Fletcher  circuit,  where  I  traveled  under  the  direction 
of  the  presiding  elder.  This  was  the  circuit  on  which 
I  labored  prior  to  the  first  quarterly  meeting  of  the 
previous  year.  My  first  acquaintance  there,  though 
short,  was  very  happy.  I  was  much  pleased  with  the 
people,  and  they  gave  me  a  hearty  welcome  to  their 
circuit.  My  colleague  this  year  was  Rev.  Francis 
Brown  —  a  worthy  little  brother,  faithful  and  well 
received.  We  labored  together  in  great  harmony, 
and  were  permitted  to  see  the  work  of  the  Lord  glo- 
riously revive — sinners  were  pricked  in  their  hearts, 
cried  for  mercy,  and  found  redemption  in  the  blood 
of  Christ,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins  according  to 
the  riches  of  his  grace. 

Methodism  had  now  gained  a  pretty  strong  hold  on 
the  affections  of  the  people,  but  all  opposition  was 
not  yet  broken  down  in  that  quarter.  In  common 
with  all  true  disciples  of  Christ,  we  had  to  contend 
with  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  and,  in  addi- 
tion, with  some  who  professed  to  be  Christians.     In 


50  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

other  denominations,  among  ministers  and  members, 
were  many  found  to  cry  out  against  us.  I  am  sorry 
to  record  this  fact.  The  recollection  of  it  is  painful 
to  my  heart.  But  my  old  Baptist  and  Presbyterian 
friends  know  that  what  I  affirm  of  the  state  of  things, 
forty  and  fifty  years  ago,  is  strictly  and  literally 
true.  But,  thank  God!  I  have  lived  to  see  the  day 
when  those  who  were  most  violently  opposed  to  us, 
give  us  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  Say  not  that 
the  former  days  were  better  than  these.  Thank 
Heaven !  light  is  increasing,  darkness  recedes,  the 
power  of  bigotry  is  broken,  truth  prevails,  error  falls 
to  the  ground,  and  let  all  the  people  say,  Amen. 

My  family  lived  in  Peru,  on  the  west  side  of  Lake 
Champlain,  and  my  circuit  was  on  the  eastern  side ; 
of  course,  I  was  absent  from  my  family  most  of  the 
time.  The  circuit  was  large,  containing  from  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  appointments  to  be  filled  every  four 
weeks.  Generally,  I  could  spend  one  or  two  days 
with  my  family  in  two  months.  My  whole  time  was 
given  up  to  God  and  his  cause.  We  met  with  oppo- 
sition wherever  we  went,  but  God  laid  to  his  helping 
hand,  and  added  to  our  numbers  daily,  so  that  the 
despised  Methodists  were  happy  and  prosperous, 
walking  in  the  light  of  the  Lord. 

At  Waterbury,  the  society  had  been  for  some  time 
in  a  cold  state;  but  the  set  time  to  favor  Zion  at  this 
place  was  come.  I  went  to  brother  Jones's,  where  the 
preaching  was  held,  and  spent  a  happy  night  with 
the  family.     The  next  morning,  Sabbath,  the  people 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  ,51 

collected  as  usual,  and  I  opened  the  service  with 
singing  and  prayer,  then  read  the  text — Isaiah  xl, 
9-11 — and  proceeded  to  expound  it  as  well  as  I 
was  able ;  and  while  I  yet  spoke,  "  the  Holy  Ghost 
fell  on  all  them  which  heard  the  word."  God  reveal- 
ed himself  in  great  power — sinners  were  cut  to  the 
heart  and  cried  for  mercy.  The  membership  awoke 
and  prayed  to  God  mightily,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  filled  the  whole  house  where  we  were  assembled. 
About. twenty  were  awakened  and  cried  for  mercy, 
and,  God  be  praised !  they  did  not  cry  in  vain.  God 
heard  our  prayers,  poured  out  his  Spirit,  and  shed 
his  love  abroad  in  penitent,  broken  hearts.  I 
remained  and  labored  with  the  seekers  as  long  as 
duty  would  permit,  and  then  went  on  to  my  after- 
noon appointment,  filled  with  faith  and  the  Holy 
Ghost.  There  were,  perhaps,  more  souls  awakened 
here  than    under  any  one    sermon  I  ever  preached. 

Once,  while  preaching  in  S ,  in  a  barn — the  men 

sitting  on  one  side  and  the  women  on  the  other — 
the  power  of  God  came  down  like  the  rushing  of  a 
mighty  wind,  and  the  people  fell  like  men  slain  in 
battle.  JSTearly  half  the  congregation  were  on  the 
floor  crying  for  mercy,  or  shouting  the  high  praises 
of  God. 

But  notwithstanding  these  evidences  of  God's  bless- 
ing upon  my  labors,  I  was  often  tempted  to  think  he 
had  never  called  me  to  this  work.  I  often  wished  that 
no  one  had  heard  me  say  I  thought  it  my  duty  to 
preach,  and  thought  if  I  were  to  begin  again,  I  would 


52  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

keep  it  to  myself.  But  now  I  was  committed,  and 
the  Church  had  called  me  out,  and  I  knew  not  how 
to  draw  back.  I  frequently  prayed  to  God,  that  if  he 
had  called  me  to  preach,  he  would  send  down  his  sin- 
slaying  power  in  the  congregation;  and  I  seldom 
asked  for  such  witness,  but,  before  my  sermon  ended, 
one,  and  sometimes  a  dozen  persons  would  fall  to  the 
floor.  Still,  when  I  looked  into  the  Bible,  and  saw 
the  depth  of  divine  truth,  its  precious  pearls  lying  so 
far  beyond  my  reach,  the  contemplation  so  impressed 
my  mind  with  a  sense  of  my  unfitness  for  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  that  I  did  look  upon  myself  as  one 
having  run  before  he  was  sent.  I  seemed  like  a 
man  standing  upon  the  earth,  looking  down  into  the 
deep  mines  of  gold,  viewing  the  precious  metal  far 
beneath  his  grasp,  while  he  was  only  permitted  to 
pick  up  some  bits  here  and  there  which  lay  near 
the  surface. 

And,  my  brethren,  it  is  not  a  light  thing  to  be  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel.  "When  we  think  of  standing 
between  God  and  the  souls  of  men  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,  to  teach  them  to  escape  hell  and  gain 
heaven — when  we  think  of  being  made  a  mouth-piece 
for  God,  and  of  the  account  we  must  give  to  him  in 
the  great  day,  as  to  how  and  what  we  have  preached 
— and  when  we  remember  that  our  preaching  will  be 
a  savor  of  life  unto  life,  or  of  death  unto  death,  we 
may  well  exclaim  with  St.  Paul,  "Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things !"  Yerily,  "  our  sufficiency  is  of 
God,"   who  hath  said,   "My  grace  is   sufficient  for 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  53 

thee."  Thank  God  !  after  forty-seven  years'  expe- 
rience in  the  blessed  work,  I  am  now  happy,  and 
would  that  all  the  world  might  come  and  see  how 
good  the  Lord  is.     Salvation  to  God  and  the  Lamb ! 

This  year  we  took  in  a  new  appointment,  in  the 
town  of  Jericho,  a  gentleman  living  near  having 
opened  his  house  for  our  entertainment.  I  spent 
many  happy  nights  with  this  man  and  his  old  lady. 
They  had  never  experienced  religion,  but  were  pleased 
to  have  us  preach  in  the  neighborhood.  As  we  held 
forth  the  word  of  life  in  this  place,  some  mocked,  but 
others  listened  with  attention ;  for  our  doctrine  was 
entirely  new  to  them.  The  people  had  been  taught, 
in  lieu  of  the  Gospel,  that  God  foreordained  whatso- 
ever comes  to  pass — that  he  had,  from  all  eternity, 
elected  a  certain  and  definite  number  to  eternal  life, 
and  foreordained  the  rest  to  eternal  death — that  the 
number  of  each  class  was  particularly  and  unchang- 
ably  designed,  and  so  certain  and  definite  that  it 
could  not  be  increased  or  diminished.  One  day,  at 
the  close  of  preaching  here,  a  man  rose  up  in  the 
congregation  and  said,  "  God  has  his  elect,  and  he 
gave  his  Son  to  die  for  them,  and  for  them  only;  and 
St.  Paul  says,  'If  I  or  an  angel  from  heaven  preach 
any  other  Gospel,  let  him  be  accursed.' '  I  replied, 
"  Paul  says,  '  Therefore,  as  by  the  offense  of  one, 
judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation ;  even 
so  by  the  righteousness  of  one,  the  free  gift  came 
upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life;'  and,  'We  see 
Jesus,  who  was  made   a  little  lower  than  the  angels 


54  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned  "with  glory  and 
honor,  that  he,  by  the  grace  of  God,  should  taste 
death  for  every  man;'  and,  again,  in  speaking  of 
Christ,  he  says,  that  '  he  gave  himself  a  ransom  for 
all,  to  be  testified  in  due  time.'  And  now,  sir,  the 
due  time  has  come,  and  I  am  sent  to  testify  this  glo- 
rious truth  to  all  men,  and  you  are  found  preaching 
'  another  Gospel,'  and  upon  you  the  curse  must 
fall." 

When  I  came  round  to  this  point  again,  a  friend 

told  me  that  he  had  asked  a  Mr.  S.  W why  he 

did  not  come  out  to  hear  me  preach.  His  reply  was, 
"  The  Methodists  are  not  fit  to  preach — they  are  a 
poor,  ignorant  set,  not  fit  to  preach  in  any  polite 
place ;  but  if  they  can  get  a  lot  of  ignorant  old 
women  together,  in  some  corner  of  the  town,  they 
will  do  to  preach  to  them.  I  would  like  to  see  your 
Mr.  Lewis."  After  preaching,  notice  was  given  that 
there  would  be  a  prayer  meeting  at  the  house  of  Mr. 

W ,  father  to    the    S.  "VV above   mentioned, 

that   evening.     Mr.  W sent  word  to  his  son  that 

there  would  be  a  conference  meeting  at  his  house  that 
night — that  the  Methodist  preacher  was  to  be  there, 
and  he — the  father — would  like  to  have  him — the 
son — attend.  I  opened  the  meeting,  and  in  some 
introductory  remarks,  took  occasion  to  notice  two 
extremes  into  which  men  sometimes  fall ;  namely, 
Pharisaism  and  Antinomianism.  Said  I,  "  The  Phar- 
isee will  tell  us  he  is  going  to  heaven  by  his  works, 
and  the  Antinomian  rushes  to  the  opposite  extreme, 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  55 

discarding  works  altogether,  and  claims  salvation  by 
faith  alone  ;  but  St.  James  sets  both  right  when  he 
says,  f  Show  me  thy  faith  without  thy  works,  and  I 
will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works.'  Faith  and 
works  must  go  together.  Our  faith  must  be  '  of  the 
operation   of   God,   producing  good   works.'"     After 

the  meeting  closed,    S.  W and   myself  entered 

into  friendly  conversation ;  but  he  soon  introduced 
his  favorite  notions,  no  doubt  for  the  purpose  of 
exciting  controversy;  and  to  give  the  reader  an 
idea  of  the  readiness  of  Calvinists  to  attack  us,  and 
of  the  manner  of  their  disputations,  and  with  the 
method  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  setting  aside  their 
speculations,  I  give  the  substance  of  what  passed  on 
this  occasion : 

L.  "  I  heard  Mr.  Denison  preach  a  fine  sermon 
the  other  evening." 

W.  "  Did  you,  indeed !  Was  he  dwelling  on  the 
doctrine  of  particular  election?" 

L.  "  No,  sir ;  if  he  had  been,  I  should  probably 
not  have  been  so  well  pleased,  as  I  do  not  believe 
in  the  doctrine  of  fate — that  God,  for  his  own  glory, 
foreordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass." 

W.  "  That  is  what  you  call  the  doctrine  of  fate, 
is  it?  Well,  I  never  could  see  how  it  is  possible  that 
any  man  can  have  consistent  views  of  the  character 
of  God,  without  believing  him  to  be  infinite  in  knowl- 
edge." 

L.  "  I  do  not  doubt  that  God  is  infinite  in  knowl- 
edge." 


56  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

W.  "  Well,  I  never  could  see  how  God  could  know 
a  thing  unless  he  had  decreed  that  it  should  be." 

L.  "  Do  you  believe  God  is  as  wise  as  man  ?" 

W.  "  Yes,  I  believe  God  is  infinite  in  knowledge." 

L.  "  Do  you  not  remember  that  man  foretold 
that  in  June,  1806,  there  would  be  an  eclipse  of 
the  sun?  And  was  it  not  fulfilled  exactly  to  the 
day  and  hour  ?" 

W.  "Yes;  I  recollect  it  all." 

L.  "  Well,  did  the  man  decree  that  the  sun  should 
be  eclipsed  at  that  time  ?" 

W.  "No,  of  course,  he   did   not." 

L.  "  Then  if  man  may  foreknow  a  thing  without 
decreeing  it,  may  not  God  likewise  ?  But,  sir,  it 
is  your  doctrine  that  denies  the  infinitude  of  the 
knowledge  of  God." 

W.  "  How  do   you  make  that  out  ?" 

L.  "Do  you  not  believe  that  the  knowledge  and 
decree  of  God,   are   one  and  the  same?" 

W.  "  Yes,  certainly." 

L.  "  Well,  wherever  there  is  a  decree,  there  must 
be  a  being  who  makes  it,  and  the  author  of  a  decree 
must  exist  prior  to  the  decree  which  he  makes. 
Now,  God  is  the  author  of  his  own  decrees,  and  he 
existed  before  they  were  made ;  and  his  decrees  and 
knowledge  being  the  same,  it  follows  that  he  existed 
before  his  knowledge ;  or,  in  other  words,  if  he  could 
not  know  any  thing  before  he  decreed  that  it  should 
be,  the  time  he  existed  prior  to  his  decrees  was  a 
time   in  which  he  knew  nothing !     But  herein,    sir. 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  57 

is  the  mistake.  Knowledge  and  decree  are  not  one 
•and  the  same.  Knowledge  is  an  attribute  of  the 
Divine  nature,  and  decree  is  an  act  or  purpose  of 
the  Divine  mind.  Then,  if  a  decree  is  an  act  or 
purpose  of  the  Divine  mind,  there  must  have  been 
a  time  when  it  was  enacted  or  purposed,  and  a  time 
previous  to  that  when  it  was  not  jet  enacted  or  pur- 
posed ;  and  if  the  decree  is  the  same  as  knowledge, 
there  must  have  been  a  time  when  there  was  no 
knowledge,  simply  because  there  was  a  time  when 
there  was  no  decree." 

W.  "Well,  I  can  not  clear  it  up,  but  if  Mr.  D. 
was  here,  he  could  clear  it  up." 

L.  "No,  sir;  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  Mr.  D. 
can  not  clear  it  up  ;  neither  can  any  other  man,  in 
harmony  with  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism.  But, 
Mr.  W ,   you  are  a  Universalist !" 

W.  "No,  sir,  I  am  no  Universalist." 

L.  "  Does  any  thing  take  place  in  the  world  con- 
trary to  the  will  of  God?" 

W.  "  Nothing ;  he  worketh  all  things  after  the 
counsel  of  his  own  will." 

L.  "  Then  all  men  do  the  will  of  God,  do  they  not?" 

W.  "  0,  yes,  of  course." 

L.  "  Well,  the  Savior  said,  '  If  any  man  do  the 
will  of  my  Father,  the  same  is  my  brother,  my  sister, 
and  my  mother ;'  and  these  words  denote  the  most 
intimate  union  with  him — a  union  which,  if  we  pos- 
sess it,  will  enable  us  to  overcome  all  our  enemies, 
and    entitle    us    to    reign   with    him   forever.     True, 


58  RECOLLECTIONS      OF 

we  can  not  overcome  and  reign  with  him,  unless  we 
do  his  will.  But  you  say,  all  do  his  will ;  and  if  they 
do,  they  will  most  certainly  all  be  saved." 

The  above  conversation  took  place  in  the  presence 
of  the  congregation.  The  people  listened  attentively, 
and  we  all  parted  in  friendship. 

We  preached  on  St.  Albans  Point,  where  we  had 
an  excellent  society.  Here  were  brother  Brooks, 
the  two  Duntons  and  their  wives,  brother  Green, 
who  finally  became  a  local  preacher,  and  brother 
Veets,  then  an  excellent  local  preacher.  He  sub- 
sequently settled  in  the  northern  part  of  Ohio,  and 
died  some  years  ago  in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel.  He 
was  a  charming  man,  and  greatly  beloved.  The 
members  of  this  society  were  much  persecuted.  They 
could  find  no  protection  against  outrage  from  their 
enemies,  by  appealing  to  the  law  ;  because  the  officers 
thought  that  Methodists  ought  not  to  be  protected 
in  their  worship.  One  of  the  brothers  Dunton  told 
me  he  had  been  compelled  to  run  his  horse  all  the 
way  home  from  the  county-seat,  in  order  to  escape 
the  fury  of  the  mob — and  that,  when  called  to  the 
seat  of  justice  to  attend  court ;  and  for  no  other 
reason  than  that  he  was  a  Methodist.  Nevertheless, 
God  blessed  them,  and  they  flourished  like  olive- 
trees  planted  in  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house. 
They  were  a  little  Church  founded  upon  solid  rock, 
and  "  the  gates  of  hell  could  not  prevail  against " 
them.  "  Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  and  all  that  is 
within  me  bless  his  holy  name !" 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  59 

One  beautiful  Sabbath  morning  of  the  summer  of 
this  year,  I  was  preaching  on  the  Point  in  a  barn, 
when  a  number  of  young  people  came  over  in  a  boat 
from  Georgia  township,  in  Vermont,  among  whom 
was  a  young  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Nicholas 
White,  who  was  engaged  in  teaching  school.  They 
came  on  a  sort  of  pleasure  excursion,  but  the  atten- 
tion of  this  young  man  was  arrested,  and  he  looked 
and  listened  with  astonishment.  He  was  awakened, 
and  soon  afterward  gave  his  name  as  a  probationer 
for  membership  in  the  Church.  lie  then  invited  me 
to  go  over  and  preach  in  his  school-house.  This  I 
did  on  the  day  he  joined,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
sermon  called  on  him  to  close  the  meeting  with 
prayer.  This  was  putting  him  to  work  very  soon, 
but  I  knew  that  if  he  was  converted  he  must  pray ; 
and  being  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  friends,  I 
thought  that  to  have  him  thus  decidedly  commit 
himself  to  the  service  of  God,  would  have  a  salu- 
tary effect  both  upon  himself  and  others ;  and  I  was 
not  mistaken.  He  was  faithful,  and  soon  obtained 
license  to  exhort — then  to  preach — then  he  became 
a  member  of  the  New  York  conference,  and,  if 
living,  is  still  a  member  of  that  honored  body  of 
self-denying  men  of  God.  Notwithstanding  the  oppo- 
sition we  received  from  the  people  of  St.  Albans, 
and  in  the  neighborhood,  before  leaving  the  circuit 
I  preached  in  the  town ;  and,  a  few  years  after 
this,  the  place  became  a  station,  which  has  been 
well  sustained.      God   can  work  and  none  can  hin- 


60  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

der.  "  The  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  him,  and 
the  remainder  of  wrath  he  will  restrain." 

While  on  this  circuit,  a  brother  obtained  the  priv- 
ilege from  the  officers,  and  made  an  appointment  for 
me  in  the  town-house,  in  Fairfield.  This  town  was 
occupied  by  Presbyterians;  and  as  soon  as  the  min- 
ister heard  of  my  appointment,  he  determined  to 
crowd  me  out  and  preach  himself.  The  brother  who 
made  the  appointment  for  me,  came  and  informed 
me  of  the  fact,  and  inquired  if  I  would  yield.  I 
told  him  I  should  preach  at  the  time  appointed. 
I  went  to  the  place  before  the  hour,  selected  my 
text  and  hymn,  and  waited  for  the  congregation ; 
but  when  the  minister  and  his  company  came  in,  I 
rose  up  and  commenced  the  service.  Upon  seeing 
my  firmness,  and  the  start  I  had  of  them,  they 
sat  down  and  quietly  listened,  while  I  preached  from 
John  iv,  14 :  "  But  whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water 
that  I  shall  give  him,  shall  never  thirst;  but  the 
water  that  I  shall  give  him,  shall  be  in  him  a  well 
of  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  life."  This,  I 
believe,  was  the  first  Methodist  sermon  ever  preached 
in  that  town. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  year,  I  was  invited  to 
preach  in  another  town  which  had  never  been  visited 
by  the  Methodists.  Here  a  gentleman  of  consider- 
able wealth  and  influence,  living  in  the  place,  took 
my  arm,  saying  it  might  not  be  safe  for  me  to  walk 
the  street  alone.  He  had  no  religion,  yet  he  was 
in  favor  of    liberty   of  conscience — wished    to   hear 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  61 

for  himself — and  determined  that  those  of  his  neigh- 

o 

bors  who  wished  to  hear  Methodist  preaching,  should 
have  the  opportunity.  Thus  God  raised  up  for  us 
friends  in  the  midst  of  our  enemies. 

And  here  let  me  say  that  those  were  the  days 
of  real  prosperity  to  our  Zion.  True,  we  had  but 
comparatively  few  members,  yet  what  we  had  were 
of  the  right  stamp.  Worldly  men  would  not  join 
us  through  sinister  motives.  No  influx  of  pride  and 
folly  had  yet  corrupted  her  communion,  endangering 
the  spirituality,  life  and  power  of  her  simple  worship. 
Seldom  did  any  unite  with  us  without  a  mind  made 
up  to  serve  God  through  life,  and  to  follow  Christ 
through  evil  report  as  well  as  good.  In  the  midst 
of  opposition,  we  were  the  happiest  people  on  earth. 
We  loved  God  and  each  other,  took  joyfully  the 
reproaches  of  the  world,  and  delighted  greatly  in 
the  services  of  the  sanctuary.  "  How  amiable  are 
thy  tabernacles,  0  Lord  of  hosts  !"  This  was  the  lan- 
guage of  our  hearts.  Methodists  would  go  forty  and 
fifty  miles  to  quarterly  meetings.  These  were  our 
great  festivals.  Here  we  renewed  our  covenants 
with  God  and  his  people,  obtained  encouragement 
and  strength  in  our  souls,  and  rejoiced  together  in 
the  salvation  of  God.  "  0  that  men  would  praise  the 
Lord  for  his  goodness,  and  for  his  wonderful  works 
to  the  children  of  men!"  Truly  our  fellowship  was 
with  the  Father,  and   with  his   Son  Jesus  Christ. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  of  toil  and  privation,  I 
found  that  God's  grace  had  been  all-sufficient,  and 


62  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

returned  to  my  family,  having  received  the  sum  of 
sixty-five  dollars  and  some  cents,  quarterage,  and 
about  five  dollars'  worth  of  presents.  And  how 
thankful  I  was  that  a  kind  Providence  had  pre- 
served us  all  alive  and  in  health,  to  see  the  close 
of  the  conference  year !  And  how  forcibly  does 
the  winding  up  of  the  year's  labor  remind  the  itin- 
erant of  the  truth  that  here  we  have  no  continuing 
city !  Then  he  sees  the  shortness  of  time,  the  vanity 
of  the  world,  and  feels  the  importance  of  being  ready 
for  the  close  of  life,  and  for  the  judgment-day,  when 
he  shall  give  account  of  his  stewardship.  God 
grant  that,  as  the  revolving  years  roll  us  onward  to 
the  judgment-seat,  we  may  so  acquit  ourselves  as 
to  triumph  over  the  evils  that  surround  us,  and  be 
able  to  sing — 

Away  with  our  sorrow  and  fear, 

We  soon  shall  recover  our  home  ! 
The  city  of  saints  shall  appear — ■ 

The  day  of  eternity  come. 
From  earth  we  shall  quickly  remove, 

And  mount  to  our  native  abode ; 
The  house  of  our  Father  above — ■ 

The  palace  of  angels  and  God." 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  63 


CHAPTER    IV. 

GRAND     ISLE     CIRCUIT. 

Having  traveled  two  years  under  the  presiding 
elder,  and  having  made  up  my  mind  to  continue  in 
the  work,  if  an  opening  should  present  itself — indi- 
cating that  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  I  should,  I 
now  offered  myself  to  the  New  York  conference,  and 
in  May,  1811,  was  admitted  on  trial,  and  appointed 
to  the  Grand  Isle  circuit,  on  Lake  Champlain.  This 
was  a  two  weeks'  circuit,  including  the  South  Hero, 
the  Middle,  the  North  Hero,  the  Vineyard,  and  a 
point  of  land  which  ran  down  into  Canada.  The 
scenery  was  picturesque — well  calculated  to  impress 
the  mind  with  sentiments  of  reverence,  and  lead  to 
admiration  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Cre- 
ator in  beautifying  the  earth  with  so  much  pleasing 
variety. 

I  moved  my  family,  and  situated  them  on  the 
circuit,  by  renting  a  small  room  with  the  privilege 
of  setting  a  bed  in  the  loft.  We  found  ourselves  in 
very  narrow  quarters.  In  order  to  get  out,  we  must 
pass  through  three  doors,  and  when  the  wind  blew 
from  a  certain  point  of  the  compass,  our  chimney 
had  a  powerful  draught — the  wrong  way.  On  such 
occasions,  our  only  alternative  was  to  extinguish  the 


64  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

fire,  and  dispense  with  it  till  the  wind  changed.  "And 
did  you  live  ?"  Yes,  and  we  still  live,  and,  thank 
God !  that  Methodist  preachers  are  not  obliged  to 
situate  their  families  now,  as  we  were  then.  We 
look  upon  the  change,  and  with  gratitude  exclaim, 
"What  hath  God  wrought !" 

We  lived  on  the  South  Island,  where  we  formed 
agreeable  acquaintance  with  several  families  who 
treated  us  kindly,  and  sought  to  make  us  as  com- 
fortable as  circumstances  would  permit.  Here  were 
two  families  of  the  name  of  Lauden,  two  of  the 
name  of  Jones,  brother  Rackets,  and  others,  many 
of  whom  are  gone  to  rest.  The  numerous  virtues 
of  these  disciples  of  Christ,  with  whom  we  used  to 
mingle  in  worship,  are  embalmed  among  the  heart's 
choicest  memories. 

I  had  an  appointment  in  a  small  village  in  Canada, 
where  we  occupied  a  large  school-house,  in  which 
also  a  reverend  gentleman  of  another  persuasion 
sometimes  officiated.  I  was  in  the  habit  of  urging 
my  hearers  to  "  cleanse  themselves  from  all  filthiness 
of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness  in  the 
fear  of  God."  Yea,  I  insisted  that  "the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  But  the 
reverend  gentleman  took  exceptions,  and  thought 
it  his  duty  to  enlighten  the  people  in  reference  to 
this  matter.  He  came  and  delivered  a  wonder- 
ful sermon — and  wonderful  it  was — for  the  pur- 
pose of  destroying  all  our  anticipations  of  deliver- 
ance from  sin  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  without 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  65 

the  assistance  of  the  purgatorial  power  of  the  "  king 
of  terrors."  In  describing  the  righteous,  he  said, 
"  I  do  not  know  whether  I  am  of  the  character  or 
not,  but  this  much  I  do  know :  I  have  the  proudest 
heart  of  any  man  in  the  world  ;  yea,  my  heart  is 
deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked ; 
yea,  I  have  committed  sin  enough  in  one  prayer 
to  damn  a  thousand  souls  ;  yea,  further,  I  have 
committed  sin  enough  standing  here  preaching  this 
sermon  to  damn  a  world !"  This  was  doing  it 
after  the  old  style. 

When  I  came  round  to  my  appointment,  a  friend 
told  me  what  had  occurred,  and  described  the 
sermon.  I  proceeded  to  preach  from  Prov.  xxviii, 
13 :  "  He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper : 
but  whoso  confesseth  and  forsaketh  them  shall  have 
mercy." 

The  preacher  alluded  to  was  present,  expecting 
me  to  say  something  of  his  sermon.  After  speak- 
ing of  the  different  methods  by  which  men  cover 
their  sins,  I  noticed  the  duty  of  confession.  Under 
this  head,  I  remarked  that  some  men  confess  more 
than  they  were  ever  guilty  of — they  make  them- 
selves out  worse    than    they   really  are.    "  Did  you 

not,"  said  I,    "  hear  the   Rev.   Mr.  say  here, 

the  other  day,  that  he  had  the  proudest  heart  in 
the  world — that  his  heart  was  deceitful  above  all 
things,  and  desperately  wicked — that  he  had  com- 
mitted sin  enough  in  one  prayer  to  damn  a  thousand 
souls — 'that  he  had   committed  sin  enough  standing 


66  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

here  preaching  that  one  sermon  to  damn  a  world! 
Now,  if  that  man  told  the  truth,  I  advise  him  never 
to  pray  again,  unless  he  asks  God  to  give  him  a 
better  heart;  and  never  to  preach  another  sermon, 
for  if  he  keeps  on  in  his  present  course,  he  will 
damn  a  great  many  souls  ;  and  I,  for  one,  do  not 
wish  to  be  damned  by  any  man's  preaching  or  pray- 
ing." I  told  the  congregation  that  I  had  a  better 
opinion  of  these  men  than  they  appear  to  have  of 
themselves* — that  they  were  not  near  so  bad  as  they 
pretended,  but  that  it  was  a  kind  of  "  voluntary 
humility,"  which  prompted  them  to  tell  how  bad 
they  supposed  themselves  to  be.  There  was  as 
much  impropriety  in  confessing  too  much  as  too 
little ;  we  should  be  honest,  confess  all,  but  no  more 
and  no  less ;  and  if  we  thus  come  before  God  with 
deep  humility  of  soul,  trusting  only  in  the  merits 
of  Jesus  Christ  for  acceptance,  we  shall  obtain 
salvation ;  for  the  text  says,  "  Whoso  confesseth 
and  forsaketh  his  sins  shall   have  mercy." 

The  preacher  took  it  all  in  good  part,  simply 
remarking  that  I  had  sent  him  to  hell  and  prayed 
him  out  again.  The  friends  treated  me  well  here; 
they  welcomed  me  to  their  houses,  sympathized  with 
me  in  all  my  cares  and  toils,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
prayed  the  divine  blessing  upon  me. 

In  August  we  held  a  camp  meeting  on  North 
Island.  On  Saturday  night,  the  rowdies  gave  us 
considerable  trouble.  I  found  it  necessary  to  be  on 
my  feet  continually,  to  prevent  depredations.     The 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  67 

labor  and  anxiety  so  completely  exhausted  me  that 
I  thought  I  should  never  have  another  such  meeting 
in  the  bounds  of  my  work.  But  Sabbath  was  a 
blessed  day.  There  was  an  immense  concourse  of 
people  present,  and  the  preaching  was  in  the  de- 
monstration and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Sabbath 
night,  the  rowdies  left,  and  the  display  of  Divine 
power  in  the  congregation  was  great.  Sinners  were 
convicted  and  converted  to  God.  Like  Jacob,  we 
said,  "  The  Lord  is  in  this  place,  and  we  knew  it 
not."  The  scene  reminded  us  of  the  words  of  the 
Lord  to  Moses,  "  Put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet, 
for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground." 
The  grove  was  made  vocal  with  the  high  praises  of 
God.  Then  I  thought  I  should  be  willing  to  hold 
a  camp  meeting  every  quarter. 

God  be  praised  that  camp  meetings  were  ever 
thought  of!  Their  origin,  the  reader  will  recollect, 
was  entirely  providential.  Many  attend  these  meet- 
ings, and  hear  the  Gospel,  who  would  not  go  to 
preaching  on  ordinary  occasions ;  and  doubtless  there 
are  souls  in  heaven  singing  the  song  of  Moses  and 
the  Lamb,  who,  but  for  these  extraordinary  services, 
might  have  lived  and  died  in  sin,  and  sunk  down 
to  perdition.  I  knew  a  man  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  who  was  quite  wicked,  and  seldom  attended 
divine  worship  of  any  kind  —  but  went  to  camp 
meeting,  and  acted  for  some  time  as  ringleader 
among  the  profane,  and  then  came  into  the  congre- 
gation ;  and  while  standing  with  his  back  to  a  tree, 


68  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

looking  upon  the  scene  before  him,  the  power  of 
God  smote  him — flashing  conviction  upon  his  mind 
and  heart ;  and  there  he  stood  as  if  petrified,  and 
almost  cold  as  dead.  Before  the  meeting  closed, 
he  was  happily  converted,  joined  the  Church,  and 
in  a  short  time  was  preaching  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ.  "But  he  was  one  of  the  elect," 
says  the  Calvinistic  objector,  "  and  would  have  been 
brought  in  any  how  !"  Hold,  brother  !  do  you  not 
believe  "  God  has  foreordained  whatsoever  comes  to 
pass?"  Then  please  remember,  camp  meetings  come 
to  pass. 

What  thrilling,  soul-cheering  times  I  have  experi- 
enced in  the  tented  grove !  The  contemplation  of 
these  gives  me,  even  now,  a  new  spring  of  joy  and 
gladness.  There  the  best  spirits  of  our  Zion  assem- 
bled, and  after  spending  several  days  in  devout 
worship,  gathering  new  strength,  building  up  the 
feeble,  and  pointing  the  inquiring  to  the  fountain 
of  life,  they  went  out  to  spread  the  flame  of  their 
new  zeal  among  their  associates  in  different  and 
distant  parts.  Thus  an  influence  for  good  was 
often  sent  out  from  the  camp  meeting  which  subse- 
quently resulted  in  the  conversion  of  souls  who  had 
not  been  there  at  all.  I  received  quite  a  number 
into  the  Church,  as  the  fruits  of  this  camp  meeting, 
beside  the  general  increase  of  piety  among  the  old 
members. 

During  the  winter,  we  held  a  quarterly  meeting 
in  brother  L 's   barn.      u  What,  hold  quarterly 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  69 

meeting  in  a  barn,  in  the  dead  of  winter?"  Yes, 
reader,  I  have  attended  a  number  of  such.  On  those 
occasions  we  had  crowds  of  people,  and  no  meeting- 
house. We  would  then  resort  to  the  barn,  and,  giving 
the  floor  to  the  women,  the  men  would  take  the  loft, 
sit  close  together,  with  hearts  warmed  with  divine 
love,  and  sing,  and  pray,  and  shout  the  praise  of 
God,  with  hearty  good-will.  At  this  meeting  we 
were  favored  with  some  divine  influence,  and  closed 
with  rather  an  upward  tendency. 

The  preacher  on  Fletcher  circuit,  brother  B , 

proposed  to  change  with  me  one  round — and  as  that 
was  my  field  of  labor,  the  previous  year,  and  as  a 
number  on  my  circuit  desired  baptism,  which  I  was 
not  authorized  to  administer,  being  yet  unordained — 

I  consented  to   the  proposal.     Brother  B came 

on,  and  while  preaching  in  a  school-house,  one  even- 
ing, there  was  a  young  lady  standing  and  warming 
herself,  when  a  young  man  stepped  up  by  her  side 
and  said,  "Good  evening,  Miss."  Having  been  well 
reared,  the  young  lady  deigned  him  no  reply,  but 
turned  away  in  disgust.  He  then  sat  down  and  com- 
menced talking  to  others;  whereupon,  brother  B 

said  to  him,  "  Can  you  not  be  still?"  He  replied, 
"If  you  could  squeeze  the  brandy  out  of  me  and 
bottle  it  up,  perhaps  I  might."  Said  the  preacher, 
"I  wish,  sir,  you  would  hold  your  peace."  Then 
clinching  a  writing-desk,  he  replied,  "  I  am  holding 
a  small  piece,  and  will  hold  it  as  long  as  I  can." 
Said  brother  B ,  "  Is   there   not  some   one  here 


70  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

that  will  put  that  young  man  out  of  the  house?"  The 
young  man  replied,  "You  would  preach  half  a  dozen 
sermons  easier  than  you  would  put  me  out  of  the 
house."  The  reader  will  discover  in  this  an  exempli- 
fication of  the  words  of  Solomon,  "  Wine  is  a  mocker, 
strong  drink  is  raging,  and  whoso  is  deceived  thereby 
is  not  wise."  This  young  man,  with  his  associates, 
went  and  complained  of  themselves,  and  saved  half 
their  fine.  For,  Methodists  as  we  were,  we  could  en- 
joy some  legal  protection  at  this  place.  But  I  ought 
to  say  that  this  is  not  a  fair  specimen  of  the  young 
men  on  the  island.  Generally  they  were  well  reared, 
and  treated  us  with  respect;  but  wherever  young  men 
have  unrestrained  access  to  ardent  spirits,  some  of 
the  "baser  sort"  will  ruin  themselves,  and  disgrace 
the  community. 

Brother  B left  some  of  my  appointments  and 

went  home;  so,  on  returning  and  finding  the  work 
neglected,  I  discovered  that  I  would  better  have 
remained  on  my  own  circuit ;  and  from  that  time  to 
this,  I  have  not  entered  into  another  such  an  arrange- 
ment.     Some    time    after   this,   I  met  with    brother 

B and  complained  to  him  for  leaving  my  work. 

He  replied,  "Well,  I  am  a  poor,  crooked  stick."  I 
remarked  to  him  that  I  should  not  mind  his  being 
crooked,  if  he  did  not  always  crook  one  way,  and 
that  toward  home.  And  I  am  still  persuaded  that 
when  a  preacher  can  just  break  off  and  leave  his 
work,  to  go  home,  he  ought  to  locate  and  stay  at 
home. 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  71 

In  the  month  of  April,  I  rode  fourteen  miles  on 
the  ice,  as  afterward  discovered,  in  constant  peril  of 
my  life.  At  one  place  I  saw  a  large  crack  just  before 
me;  but  putting  spurs  to  my  horse,  he  jumped  it,  car- 
rying me  safely  over.  A  brother  from  North  Island 
attempted  to  cross  with  a  sleigh,  directly  after  me, 
but  one  of  his  horses  fell  through  and  was  drowned. 
You  could  force  an  ax  through  the  ice,  that  same 
day,  in  the  road  over  which  I  passed  but  a  few 
hours  before.  When  I  learned  this,  I  was  greatly 
thankful  to  my  heavenly  Father,  who  preserved  me 
from  a  watery  grave.  Yes,  it  was  the  hand  of  a 
kind  Providence  that  took  care  of  me  in  that  perilous 
journey.  Once  before,  that  same  divine  hand  saved 
me  while  traveling  on  the  ice,  when  one-fourth  of  the 
steps  of  my  horse  broke  through.  There  was  no 
alternative  but  to  rush  forward  in  the  way  till  I 
reached  the  shore. 

"  Through  hidden  dangers,  toils  and  deaths, 
He  gently  cleared  my  way." 

That  I  still  live,  is  a  wonder  to  myself  and  others. 
When  I  started  out  to  preach,  my  friends  thought  I 
could  not  endure  the  toil  and  privation  of  itinerant 
life,  through  one  year ;  but  now  forty-seven  years 
are  past,  and  I  am  still  a  probationer  in  time.  It  is 
all  of  the  mercy  of  God,  and  I  ought  to  love  him 
more,  and  serve  him  better.  I  pray  God  that  my 
remaining  days  may  prove  the  earnestness  of  my 
desire  to  dwell  only  in  him  ! 


72  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

We  ought  always  to  labor  in  faith,  whether  we  have 
much  feeling  or  not,  for  we  know  not  when  we  do  the 
most  good.  Here  is  an  illustration :  While  on  this 
circuit,  I  preached  one  evening  on  North  Island,  but 
felt  gloomy,  and  had  but  little  enjoyment;  in  class 
meeting  I  was  surprised  to  find  the  members  all  alive, 
and  to  hear  them  tell  how  greatly  they  were  blessed 
under  the  preaching.  To  me  it  was  very  strange,  for 
I  could  not  find  much  enjoyment,  even  in  the  class 
meeting.  The  next  morning,  I  called  to  see  an 
afflicted  disciple,  who  had  been  thirteen  years  con- 
fined to  her  bed,  but  was  always  happy.  Upon  enter- 
ing her  room  she  said,  "  Brother  Lewis,  you  had  a 
good  meeting  last  night."  I  replied  that  the  mem- 
bers seemed  happy,  but  I  had  rather  a  poor  time 
myself.  "Why,"  said  she,  "the  family  say  you 
preached  better  than  you  have  done  since  you  came 
on  the  island."  After  prayers,  I  went  to  the  other 
end  of  the  island,  and  had  scarcely  entered  the  house 
at  which  I  was  calling,  when  a  friend  addressed  me 
much  as  the  afflicted  sister  had  done.  I  made  the 
same  reply  as  before.  "Why,"  said  this  friend,  "our 
people  say,  you  beat  yourself — that  they  never  heard 
you  preach  so  well  as  you  did  last  night!"  I  then 
concluded  that,  as  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  we  are 
not  judges  of  our  own  efforts ;  that,  sometimes,  where 
we  think  we  have  done  most,  we  have  in  reality 
accomplished  but  little,  and  that  sometimes  when  we 
think  we  have  done  nothing,  God  blesses  our  labor  to 
the   positive  good  of  souls.     Much  also   depends  on 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  73 

the  spirit  of  the  hearer.  He  that  listens  to  the  word 
with  an  open  heart,  seeking  spiritual  nourishment  for 
his  soul,  and  praying  God  to  bless  the  speaker  and 
the  word  spoken,  will  seldom  fail  of  finding  divine 
truth  sweet  as  the  honey-comb.  But  those  who  listen 
only  for  intellectual  gratification,  are  seldom  pleased 
or  profited.  I  know  we  should  always  preach  as 
well  as  we  can,  and  leave  the  result  with  God  who 
only  can  "give  the  increase;"  but  I  confess  I  never 
could  feel  satisfied  without  being  made  happy  in  my 
own  soul,  while  trying  to  preach  to  others.  And 
surely  it  is  our  privilege  to  find  happiness  in  this 
work,  for  if  we  have  been  "  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost"  to  preach  the  Gospel,  we  may  claim  our 
Savior's  special  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world!" 

This  was  a  year  of  considerable  trial  to  me.  I  was 
greatly  wanting  in  experience  as  a  preacher,  and  yet 
had  pastoral  charge,  in  this  circuit,  of  the  Church  of 
God,  which  he  purchased  with  his  own  blood.  I  was 
deeply  sensible  of  the  responsibility  of  my  position — 
felt  my  lack  of  wisdom,  but  asked  of  God,  who  giveth 
to  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not.  We  enjoyed 
a  reasonable  degree  of  prosperity,  and  had  over  a 
hundred  accessions  to  the  Church. 

I  closed  my  labors  on  this  circuit  in  May,  1812, 
having  received  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  dollars 
for  the  year.  We  paid  our  own  house- rent.  All  the 
time  of  my  connection  with  the  New  York  conference, 
provisions  ranged  as  follows :  Corn,  from  75  cts.  to 


74  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

$1.25  per  bushel;  wheat,  from  $1.25  to  $2.25;  pork, 
from  $5  to  $10  per  hundred ;  hay,  from  $5  to 
$20  per  tun,  and  other  things  in  proportion.  Does 
the  reader  inquire  how  we  lived  ?  We  had  a  little 
means  of  our  own,  and  Mrs.  Lewis  plied  the  nee- 
dle, day  and  night,  till  she  found  it  necessary  to 
wear  glasses  at  thirty-five.  But  God  was  with  us, 
and  He  is  still  with  us,  and  we  have  food  to  eat, 
raiment  to  wear,  and  a  house  to  shelter  us  from  sum- 
mer's heat  and  winter's  cold.  We  are  surrounded  by 
kind  friends,  and  lift  up  our  hearts  to  Heaven  in 
thankfulness  for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  blessings 
of  this  life,  and  for  the  bliss-inspiring  hope  of  an 
immortal  life  of  joy  and  peace  in  a  world  all  radiant 
with  the  smile  of  God ! 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  75 


CHAPTER  V. 

BRANDON    CIRCUIT— FIRST  YEAR. 

At  the  conference  of  May,  1812,  I  was  appointed 
to  Brandon  circuit,  with  brother  Thomas  Madden 
for  my  colleague.  Our  field  of  labor  extended  over 
twenty-six  townships,  in  some  of  which  were  several 
appointments.  War  having  been  declared  against 
England  by  our  Government,  the  situation  of  my  col- 
league, as  a  Methodist  preacher  in  the  United  States, 
was  rendered  very  unpleasant,  and  resulted  in  his 
leaving  the  work  some  time  before  the  year  expired. 
He  owned  land  in  Canada  West,  and  his  father-in-law 
lived  there — he  having  joined  the  British  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  and  continued  a  half-pay  officer  to  the 
time  of  which  I  write — so  that  brother  Madden  and 
his  wife  were,  from  interest  and  association,  all  on 
one  side.  This  rendered  them  very  unpopular,  and 
very  unhappy,  although  brother  M.  was  an  excel- 
lent preacher.  Some  time  in  the  winter  they  deter- 
mined to  visit  their  friends  in  Canada,  and  I  advised 
them  to  take  their  children  along.  Upon  this,  sis- 
ter M.  said,  "You  don't  want  us  to  come  Back 
then."  I  replied,  "When  you  arrive  there  and  find 
you  can't  come  back,  you  will  wish  your  ehildren 
were   with   you."     Brother   M.  said  that  when   he 


76  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

reached  there,  if  he  found  he  could  not  go  into  Can- 
ada and  out  again  when  he  wished,  he  would  not 
cross  over  the  line.  They  went,  and  the  British  made 
brother  Madden  a  prisoner  of  war.  They  then  sent 
for  their  children,  and  we  willingly  gave  them  up 
to  join  their  parents  ;  and  I  have  never  seen  my 
colleague  since.  I  had  several  letters  from  him, 
and  think  it  probable  that  he  enjoyed  himself  better 
than  he  could  have  done  on  this  side  of  the  line ;  but, 
how  any  one  can  prefer  that  Government  to  ours,  is 
passing  strange  to  me.  I  love  the  land  of  my  birth. 
My  father  fought  for  the  liberty  of  which  we  boast. 
The  noble  blood  of  patriot  martyrs  consecrated  this 
whole  land  to  freedom,  and — bating  the  three  and  a 
half  millions  of  slaves,  whose  groans  pierce  the 
heavens — we  are  the  best  governed  people  beneath 
the  sun ;  and  I  trust  all  who  choose  to  seek  asylum  in 
our  country,  will  always  find  ample  protection  against 
the  oppressions  of  tyranny. 

Politics  ran  high.  Some,  in  our  part  of  the  country, 
violently  opposed  the  national  administration,  and 
denounced  the  war  with  unwonted  fury.  I  remember 
stopping  once  to  rest,  at  the  house  of  brother  G. — he 
kept  public  house — when  Major  Powell,  and  some 
other  British  officers,  came  in.  They  were  hardly 
seated  before  two  men,  living  near  by,  came  in,  and, 
after  heartily  shaking  hands  with  them,  commenced 
a  tirade  of  abuse  against  our  Government,  interspersed 
with  horrid  curses  upon  the  war.  I  sat  listening,  for 
some  time,  and  then,  addressing  one  of  the  men,  said, 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  77 

"  Sir,  you  speak  too  diminutively  of  the  Government 
under  which  you  live.  If  you  were  to  go  into  Canada 
and  say  half  so  much  against  that  Government,  they 
would  hang  you  up  between  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  !  Now.  sir,  if  that  Government  is  so  much 
better  than  ours,  why  don't  you  go  there?"  He 
replied  that  "  that  Government  is  the  best  in  the 
world."  "Very  well,"  said  I,  "but  why  do  you  not 
go  there  ?  I  advise  you  to  start  immediately,  and, 
rather  than  fail,  I  will  pay  for  moving  one  load  of 
your  goods.  If  that  is  the  best  Government  in  the 
world,  you  ought  to  be  off  at  once."  Major  P. 
then  said,  "  Mr.  Lewis,  your  people  can  never  suc- 
ceed in  this  war — they  are  too  much  divided;  it  is  not 
so  with  us — we  are  united  to  a  man."  I  replied, 
"Major,  I  know  you,  and  where  you  have  been :  Gen. 
Clark  took  you  and  your  men  prisoners,  and  you 
were  sent  down  to  Greenbush.  There  you  probably 
heard  some  speak  against  their  own  Government,  and 
now  you  are  returning  to  be  exchanged,  and  here  you 
hear  two  men  do  the  same  thing ;  but  what  of  all 
that  ?  What  if  all  New  England  should  rise  against 
the  General  Government  ?  The  power  of  the  Federal 
Union  would  still  be  unshaken  !" 

"Well,"  said  the  Major,  "you  have  gained  noth- 
ing from  old  Clark's  conduct;  our  Government  has 
sent  and  taken  all  the  inhabitants  of  one  of  your 
towns." 

"What  town  is  that?"  said  I. 

"Alburg,"  said  the  Major. 


78  RE-COLLECTIONS     OF 

"Well,  you  are  welcome  to  theru,"  said  I,  "and  I 
hope  you  will  not  let  them  come  back  again ;  for  the 
place  was  inhabited  by  Tories,  and  I  have  learned  that 
enemies  at  home  can  do  a  great  deal  more  harm  than 
those  at  a  distance."  However,  the  Major  was 
mistaken.  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  not 
taken;   so  we  had  to  live  with  them  as  before. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  occasional  opposition,  the 
general  sentiment  of  our  people  was  in  favor  of  the 
war.  The  majority  cordially  supported  the  adminis- 
tration, and  thought  "John  Bull"  had  been  borne 
with  too  long  in  impressing  our  seamen,  and  searching 
our  vessels.  The  spirit  of  freemen  was  fully  aroused. 
Hundreds  rushed  to  arms,  ready,  at  any  sacrifice,  to 
repel  the  British  invaders.  But  war  is  a  calamity  to 
any  people.  Though  permitted  by  the  Almighty,  and 
sometimes  employed,  in  his  providence,  as  the  means 
of  punishing  wicked  nations,  and  though  he  overrules 
it  in  its  results,  rendering  it  subservient  to  his  own 
purposes  of  evangelizing  the  world,  it  is,  nevertheless, 
antagonistic  to  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and  always  to 
be  regarded  as  the  last  resort  to  throw  off  oppression, 
and  to  maintain  the  rights  of  our  manhood,  with 
freedom  to  worship  God. 

I  know  it  has  been  said  that  war  is  a  glorious  strife 
between  contending  nations ;  and  that  the  brilliant 
parades,  cheering  music,  and  waving  banners  stir  up 
the  soul,  and  arouse  to  action,  the  slumbering 
patriotism  of  the  people,  urging  them  on  to  heroic 
deeds,  and  to  the  acquisition  of  martial  glory !     But 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  79 

war  is  more  than  this :  it  is  the  destruction  of  many 
lives — the  desolation  of  towns,  cities,  and  country- 
places — the  sacrifice  of  millions  of  money — the 
enemy  of  the  arts  and  sciences — the  demoraliza- 
tion of  the  people — the  rupture  of  the  ties  of  friend- 
ship— the  prostration  of  commercial  interests — the 
downfall  of  numerous  benevolent  institutions — and 
the  mightiest  obstacle  to  the  advancement  of  civili- 
zation ! 

War  consigns  innocent  wives  and  children  to  help- 
less widowhood  and  orphanage,  compelling  them  to 
drag  out,  in  poverty  and  wretchedness,  the  life  God 
gave  them  for  happiness  and  usefulness.  War 
authorizes  robbery,  oppression,  and  violence ;  and 
by  familiarizing  so  many  with  wholesale  outrages 
upon  the  rights  of  others,  weakens  the  tenure  by 
which  we  hold  our  property,  our  liberty,  and  our 
lives.  War  excites  the  baser  passions,  distorts  the 
public  mind,  establishes  a  false  standard  of  merit, 
and  tends  to  elevate  the  physical  above  the  intel- 
lectual accomplishments.  It  thus  creates  a  morbid 
taste  for  military  exploits,  and  leads  aspiring  youths 
to  put  forth  ambitious  efforts  to  acquire  martial  fame, 
rather  than  to  excel  in  the  pursuits  of  peace. 

ISTo  proper  estimate  can  be  made  of  the  frightful 
ravages  of  war.  The  amount  of  human  suffering  it 
has  entailed  on  our  world,  is  past  computation.  The 
withering  blight  has  fallen  on  each  successive  genera- 
tion, from  time  immemorial.  The  sighs,  the  tears, 
the  groans,  the  inexpressible  anguish,  which  war  has 


80  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

caused,  will  not  be  fully  known  till  eternity  shall 
unroll  the  dark  record ! 

And  still  men  love  war.  Trivial  misunderstandings 
arise  between  neighboring  nations,  and  immediately 
heated  politicians  plunge  into  angry  disputes  which 
nothing  can  settle  but  a  resort  to  arms.  Then  the 
war-cry  is  shouted  through  the  land  !  Instruments 
of  death  are  multiplied  with  all  rapidity.  Men, 
trained  for  the  desperate  conflict,  are  hurried  to  the 
field.  Like  infuriated  beasts,  they  thrust  each  other 
through,  till  human  gore  runs  in  torrents,  and  human 
souls,  by  scores  and  hundreds,  are  driven  into  the 
presence  of  a  holy  God  !  But  from  the  details  of  the 
battle-field  the  heart  sickens  and  turns  away. 

But  men  will  not  always  delight  in  carnage. 
Christianity  will  yet  diffuse  her  peaceful  principles 
among  the  nations,  and  inaugurate  a  better  civiliza- 
tion. Her  transforming  power  will  be  felt  by  rulers 
as  well  as  subjects.  The  instruments  of  death  will 
then  be  turned  into  implements  of  husbandry,  and 
war  will  be  learned  no  more.  Men  will  no  longer  be 
counted  valiant  according  as  they  have  faced  the 
death-dealing  artillery,  or  butchered  their  fellow- 
mortals.  God  hasten  the  day  !  And  may  we  never 
more  hear  the  roar  of  the  wide-mouthed  cannon,  the 
rattle  of  small  arms,  or  the  clash  of  swords,  the 
groans  of  the  dying,  or  the  wail  of    the    bereaved  ! 

But  to  return.  I  was  now  left  alone  on  this  large 
circuit,  and,  although  the  prevailing  tendency  of  the 
times  was  to  irreligion,  we  had  some  precious  seasons 


A      SUPERANNUATE.  81 

of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  Sinners 
were  awakened,  converted,  and  added  to  the  Church, 
and  believers  were  strengthened  and  built  up  in  their 
most  holy  faith. 

One  of  my  preaching-places  was  Mount  Holly.  I 
used  to  go  there  and  preach,  then  visit,  sing  and  pray 
with  the  families,  and  the  next  morning  ride  twenty- 
three  miles  before  breakfast ;  then  ride  three  miles 
further  and  preach,  sometimes  to  six  or  eight  persons. 
Here,  however,  we  had  some  good  times,  and  God  in- 
creased the  little  society  both  in  numbers  and  graces. 
At  this  place,  I  formed  a  most  delightful  acquaintance 
with  a  family  of  the  name  of  Anderson ;  and,  after 
the  fatigue  of  such  a  long  ride,  it  was  truly  refreshing 
to  find  one's  self  at  home  with  such  kind  friends. 
They  were  surrounded  with  worldly  comforts,  and 
their  warm-hearted  friendship  increased  the  pleasure 
of  their  society.  Many  a  happy  night  did  I  spend 
beneath  their  roof,  talking  of  the  loving-kindness  of 
our  God. 

In  Pittsford  we  had  a  very  good  society  of  from 
forty  to  fifty  members — warm-hearted,  zealous,  happy 
souls.  Here  the  Baptist  and  Presbyterian  Churches 
were  established,  had  meeting-houses,  and  regarded 
us  as  intruders    into    their    "parishes."     One  day  I 

fell  in  company  with  Elder  H ,  in  the  road,  and, 

after  riding  with  him  some  distance,  said,  "Well, 
Elder,  what  is  the  state  of  religion  in  your  Church  ?" 
"  0,  a  pretty  cold  time  with  us,"  said  he  ;  "  but  this 
is   our   seed-time,   you   know ;  if  we  should   always 


82  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

have  harvest,  we  should  have  no  seed-time ;  and  if  we 
always  had  seed-time,  we  would  never  have  harvest." 
True,  in  regard  to  the  vegetable  kingdom ;  but  is  not 
this  illustration  resorted  to  sometimes  as  an  apology 
for  barrenness  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven?  I  thank 
God,  the  economy  of  grace  is  such  that  we  may  have 
seed-time  and  harvest  both  at  once.  We  are  often 
permitted  to  sow  the  seed  of  the  kingdom,  and  imme- 
diately witness  the  glorious  fruit ! 

We  labored  under  great  disadvantage  through  want 
of  meeting-houses.  We  had  but  one  on  this  large 
circuit,  and  that  was  built  on  a  cheap  plan,  and  quite 
small.  Our  preaching  was  in  school-houses,  dwelling- 
houses,  barns,  shops,  and  in  God's  own  temple,  the 
leafy  grove.  But  the  Lord  blessed  us  greatly,  and 
being  sweetly  united  in  the  bonds  of  "the  glorious 
Gospel,"  we  were  happy.  It  was  a  great  cross  in 
those  days  to  be  a  Methodist;  hence,  the  people  gen- 
erally counted  the  cost  before  giving  their  names  for 
membership ;  and  when  they  did  come  they  generally 
held  on  their  way,  growing  strong  in  faith  and  hope. 
In  the  village  of  Brandon  we  had  an  excellent  society. 
Here  my  principal  home  was  at  the  house  of  brother 
Pomeroy,  father  to  Rev.  Charles  Pomeroy,  of  the 
New  York  conference.  In  Leister  our  society  was 
large.  At  this  place,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Judge  Olin,  the  father  of  the  lamented  Dr.  Stephen 
Olin,  the  distinguished  writer,  traveler,  preacher,  di- 
vine, and  scholar.  The  Judge  was  a  tall,  robust  man. 
He  used  to  attend  our  meetings,  and,  on  first  seeing 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  83 

him  in  the  congregation,  I  took  him  to  be  a  sleepy, 
dull  man,  and  not  much  given  to  talk ;  but,  on  further 
acquaintance,  after  visiting  him  in  his  own  house,  my 
first  impressions  proved  incorrect;  for  he  was  a  man 
of  sound  mind,  of  extensive  information,  and  a  great 
talker.  He  told  me  he  thought  our  Church  polity 
the  best  in  the  world,  so  long  as  the  officers  have 
plenty  of  religion;  "but,"  said  he,  "you  have  the 
machinery  all  arranged  so  that  if  your  leading  men 
lose  their  religion,  they  can  cut  your  heads  off  at  a 
stroke."  I  told  him  that  all  Church  governments 
have  their  difficulties;  that  we  did  not  pretend  that 
ours  was  entirely  perfect;  but  it  had  hitherto  worked 
well,  with  as  little,  and  perhaps  less  friction  than  any 
other,  and  we  were  disposed  to  hold  on  to  it ;  and  that 
I  believed  it  would  stand  the  test  as  long  as  Church 
governments  are  needed  in  the  world. 

I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  many  Christian  fam- 
ilies on  this  circuit,  who  welcomed  me  to  their  houses, 
ministered  to  my  temporal  wants,  and  sympathized 
with  me  in  all  my  labors,  trials,  and  privations.  The 
year  closed  with  the  very  best  of  feeling  among  the 
entire  membership.  In  looking  over  the  stewards' 
book,  it  appeared  that  I  had  received  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  for  the  year.  After  a  few  days'  rest, 
I  started  to  conference  in  company  with  my  presiding 
elder,  Rev.  Samuel  Draper. 

On  our  way,  we  called  at  a  house  to  lodge  for  the 
night,  when  the  man  came  out,  shook  hands  heartily 
with  brother  Draper,  and  asked  him  if  he  remem- 


84  RECOLLECTIONS     OP 

bered  preaching  up  in  the  Green  Mountains  at  a  cer- 
tain time,  when  he  had  but  one  man  for  a  hearer. 
Brother  D.  remembered  it  well.  He  took  the  text, 
"  Thou  art  the  man ;"  and  the  hearer  was  convicted 
and  converted  to  God,  and  now  stood  before  us, 
happy  to  welcome  us  to  his  house. 

We  often  preached  to  small  congregations  in  those 
days,  and  incidents  similar  to  the  above  have  often 
occurred.  Our  business  was  to  declare  the  whole 
counsel  of  God  to  few  or  many,  whether  they  would 
hear,  or  whether  they  would  forbear.  "  Sow  thy  seed 
in  the  morning,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thy 
hand;  for  thou  knowest  not  which  shall  prosper, 
whether  this  or  that,  or  whether  both  shall  be  alike 
good." 

The  conference  sat  in  Amenia,  New  York.  The 
exercises  of  the  session  were  peculiarly  interesting  to 
me.  In  company  with  several  others,  I  was  admitted 
into  full  connection,  and  elected  and  ordained  deacon. 
In  the  examination  of  character,  it  appeared  that  one 
brother  had  not  been  to  his  work.  His  reason  was, 
that  his  appointment  was  too  far  off.  He  had  friends, 
and  wished  to  live  near  them.  It  was  also  discovered 
that  this  brother  was  somewhat  afflicted  with  that 
unfortunate  disease,  the  "big-head."  He  was  sus- 
pended. He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  mind 
for  one  of  his  years,  but  by  some  means  or  other,  he 
found  it  out  when  he  was  too  young,  and  was  led  to 
"  think  more  highly  of  himself  than  he  ought  to 
think;"   and  then,   of   course,  he  was  ruined  for  a 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  85 

Methodist  preacher.  Whenever  a  young  preacher  is 
attacked  with  this  disease — unless,  by  some  means, 
he  is  cured  immediately — his  usefulness  is  at  an  end. 
"Humility  is  the  forerunner  of  advancement  and 
honor;  and  ambition,  the  harbinger  of  destruction 
and  ruin."  Humility  adorned  the  life  of  Jesus,  and 
crowns  the  worship  of  angels.  And  shall  man — poor, 
frail,  short-sighted  man — called  to  minister  in  holy 
things — to  lead  wretched,  sinful,  perishing  souls  from 
the  verge  of  hell  to  the  foot  of  the  cross  of  Jesus,  to 
be  pardoned,  purified,  and  saved  through  his  atoning 
blood — shall  man,  I  say,  thus  employed,  be  proud  or 
vain  of  a  little  talent,  which  God  has  given  him  for 
improvement,  and  for  which  he  must  give  account  in 
the  great  day?     Rather 

"Let  me  be  little  and  unknown, 
Loved  and  prized  by  God  alone." 


8G  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 


CHAPTER   VI. 

BRANDON    CIRCUIT— SECOND    YEAR. 

From  the  conference  of  May,  1813,  I  was  returned 

to    Brandon    circuit,  with  a   young    brother,  B 

N ,  for  my  colleague.     We  traveled  together  in 

harmony.  He  was  brought  up  in  Canada,  was  with- 
out polish,  staid  with  us  a  few  years,  and  then 
concluded  there  was  too  much  labor  devolving  on  a 
Methodist  itinerant — got  the  "  big-head" — joined  the 
Episcopalians,  and  became  a  "  lay-reader"  in  the 
"Church;"  of  his  subsequent  history  I  know  nothing 
more. 

It  was  strange,  in  those  days,  to  hear  men  complain 
of  hard  labor  in  the  Methodist  ministry.  We  used  to 
vie  with  each  other  for  difficult  appointments,  consid- 
ering such  the  more  responsible,  and  therefore  the 
more  honorable,  as  affording  better  opportunity  for 
self-denial,  and  for  testing  our  attachment  to  the 
cause  of  Christ.  For  the  first  nine  years  of  my  itiner- 
ant life,  I  volunteered  for  work  in  the  old  North  dis- 
trict, in  the  New  York  conference.  I  never  desired  to 
be  any  thing  other  than  a  traveling — yes,  a  traveling 
Methodist  preacher.  In  the  midst  of  the  toil  of  such 
a  life,  I  could  ever  sing, 

"  This  work  shall  make  my  heart  rejoice, 
And  spend  the  remnant  of  my  days." 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  87 

I  was  soon  among  old  friends,  who  gave  me  their 
warm  congratulations,  and  contributed  in  every  pos- 
sible way  to  make  us  comfortable  among  them  for 
another  year.  This  was  truly  a  warm-hearted,  gen- 
erous people.  I  loved  them  dearly,  and  I  love  them 
still ;  but  most  of  them  have  passed  on  before  me  to 
the  land  of  promise.  I  pray  God  to  keep  me  faithful 
a  little  longer,  and  then  I  shall  meet  them  in  heaven. 

This  year  we  took  in  a  new  appointment,  in  New 
Haven,  Vermont.  We  met  with  much  opposition, 
but  the  hand  of  our  God  was  upon  us  for  good,  and 
we  had  a  glorious  revival  of  religion.  We  organized  a 
new  society  of  forty  or  fifty  members,  among  whom 
were  some  noble  spirits.  One  of  these  was  Mrs. 
Smith — sister  to  Rev.  William  Jewett,  of  the  New 
York  conference.  She  now  resides  near  Granville, 
Ohio,  and  enjoys  the  esteem  of  her  brethren  and  sis- 
ters as  a  worthy  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  These  were  seasons  of  refreshing  indeed. 
God  was  with  his  people,  working  salvation  in  the 
midst  of  the  earth !  We  did  then,  do  now,  and  ever 
will,  give  all  the  glory  to  God,  "  who  is  glorious  in 
holiness,  fearful  in  praises,  doing  wonders."  "  It 
was  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit, 
saith  the  Lord." 

On  going  to  one  of  my  appointments,  in  the  re- 
motest part  of  the  circuit,  I  took  a  road  on  which  I 
was  not  acquainted,  and,  having  a  long  ride,  thought 
best  to  stop  at  a  public  house  and  refresh  my  horse. 
While  sitting  in  the  "bar-room,"  there  were  present 


88  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

two  men  enjoying  themselves  exceedingly  in  conver- 
sation, who,  I  learned,  were  Rev.  Mr.  W ,  of  the 

Baptist  Church,  and  Mr.  M ,  one  of  his  deacons. 

When  ready  to  start,  I  inquired  if  there  was  a  nearer 
way  to  East  Bay  than   through  New  Haven.     Mr. 

W answered,  "Yes,    but  to  what  part  of  East 

Bay  do  you  wish  to  go?"  " To  Mr.  Harlow's."  "To 
Isaac  Harlow's?"  said  he.  "I  do  not  know  his  first 
name,  sir."  " Well,  is  he  a  Methodist ?"  "Yes,  sir." 
"And  are  you  a  Methodist  preacher?"  "Yes,  sir." 
"  Well  I  am  a  Baptist  preacher,"  said  he.  "Yes,  sir; 
how  do  you  do,  sir?"  said  I.  "Mr.  Harlow  once 
belonged  to  the  Baptist  Church,"  said  he;  "but  he 
was  always  a  Methodist  at  heart."  "And  so  is 
every  man  when  his  soul  is  converted,"  said  I.  At 
this  the  deacon  spoke  and  said,  "0  no!  I  never 
was."  (Here  they  both  talked  at  once.)  "  One  at  a 
time,"  said  I,  "  and  it  will  last  the  longer,  or  both  at 
once  and  the  sooner  over."  The  deacon  continued, 
"  When  I  was  convicted  I  fought  against  God  with 
all  my  might."  "Well,  did  you  not  submit  to  God 
before  you  was  converted?"  "No,"  said  the  deacon, 
"I  fought  against  him  all  the  time!"  "Well,"  said 
I,  "St.  Paul  says,  'As  ye  have  received  Christ  Jesus 
the  Lord,  so  walk  ye  in  him:'  and  as  you  received 
him  fighting  against  God,  you  must  be  walking  in 
him  fighting  against  God ;  and  so  you  can  not  be  one 
of  his  people ;  for  the  Bible  says  his  people  shall  be 
willing  in  the  day  of  his  power ;  not  that  they  shall 
be  forced  to  submit,  but  they  shall  be  a  'willing  peo- 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  89 

pie ;'  as  the  Psalmist  said,  so  do  they,  i  I  delight  to 
do  thy  will,  0  God.'"  He  contended  that  God  has 
determined  to  save  certain  persons,  whether  they  will 
submit  or  not !  How  amazing  is  the  power  of  preju- 
dice !  I  insisted  that  men  must  first  submit  to  God's 
terms,  or  he  will  never  save  them ;  and  after  consid- 
erable conversation,  we  parted  in  peace. 

Some  time  in  the  summer,  we  established  an  ap- 
pointment in  Sudbury — a  place  in  which  there  had 
never  been  a  Methodist  sermon  preached.  At  my 
first  visit  to  the  place,  I  had  only  about  a  dozen 
hearers ;  but  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  rested  on  me 
while  I  dwelt  on  these  words  :  "  But  truly  as  the 
Lord  liveth,  and  as  thy  soul  liveth,  there  is  but  a 
step  between  me  and  death."  The  little  congrega- 
tion manifested  considerable  interest ;  there  was 
indeed  a  "shaking  among  the  dry  bones,"  and  I  felt 
strong  confidence  that  God  would  favor  us  with  a 
good  work  in  the  place.  Opposition  was  excited,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  but  the  Lord  made  bare  his  arm 
in  our  behalf,  and  we  had  a  glorious  time.  One  of 
my  hearers  asked  a  neighbor  why  he  did  not  come  to 
hear  the  Methodist  preach.  He  replied  that  there  was 
no  need  of  coming,  for  they  could  hear  him  any  where 
in  the  neighborhood.  The  Lord  blessed  me  with 
a  good  pair  of  lungs,  and  the  probability  is  that  I 
had  as  many  hearers  that  did  not  come  to  meeting  as 
there  were  in  the  house.  A  good  society  of  forty  or 
fifty  members   was    formed,   as   the    result   of   these 

efforts. 

8 


90  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

An  excellent  brother  lived  here,  of  the  name 
of  Rhodes,  who  was,  in  every  respect,  well  quali- 
fied to  take  charge  of  the  class.  And,  0,  how 
much  depends  on  this  !  Many  a  society  has  dwindled 
away  for  the  want  of  a  suitable  leader.  He  should 
possess  deep  piety,  sound  judgment,  and  strong  feel- 
ing for  the  prosperity  of  Zion.  His  work  is  arduous 
and  responsible.  If  any  of  his  flock  are  absent,  he 
should  know  the  cause  :  if  any  one  is  sick  he  should 
visit  and  pray  with  him,  and  report  the  case  to  the 
pastor :  if  they  are  discouraged,  he  should  counsel, 
instruct,  and  encourage  them  :  if  they  are  careless, 
he  should  exhort  and  expostulate  with  them :  if  they 
are  Wicked,  he  should  affectionately  admonish  and 
reprove  them ;  and,  if  they  persist,  or  become  out- 
breaking, he  should  have  them  excluded  the  Church, 
lest  their  example  corrupt  others.  With  such  a 
leader,  a  society  will  scarcely  fail  to  prosper.  The 
Lord  raise  up  such  among  us  more  and  more — men 
full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost! 

In  the  winter  of  1813,  the  epidemic,  called  the 
plague,  prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent.  People 
were  smitten  down  and  carried  off  as  rapidly  as  with 
the  cholera.  They  would  be  taken  with  a  pain  in 
the  finger,  or  thumb,  or  toe,  or  ear,  and  die  in  six  or 
eight  hours.  They  scarcely  ever  lived  over  twenty- 
four  hours.  This  was  a  most  dreadful  calamity. 
Some  of  the  best  members  of  the  Church  were  taken 
away  at  a  stroke.  I  had  to  attend  funerals  almost 
every  day,  sometimes   several  in  the  same  neighbor- 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  91 

hood*  These  occasions  afforded  me  opportunity  to 
declare  the  Gospel  to  many  who  seldom,  if  ever,  heard 
Methodist  preaching ;  for,  in  that  region,  at  that  time, 
there  was  but  little  sociability  with  Methodists,  on  the 
part  of  other  denominations. 

I  still  found  myself  occasionally  in  collision  with 
Presbyterian  and  Baptist  preachers;  but  this  was 
never  with  me  a  matter  of  choice.  It  was  always  more 
pleasant  to  me  to  live  in  harmony  with  all  Christians, 
and  to  unite  my  efforts  with  theirs  in  assaulting, 
directly,  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  seeking  the 
conversion  of  souls.  Yet,  when  the  peculiarities  of 
Methodism  wTere  assaulted  and  misrepresented,  I 
esteemed  it  nothing  less  than  a  sacred  duty  to 
"  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  which  was  once 
delivered  unto  the  saints." 

I  will  now  say,  that,  upon  the  whole,  this  was  a 
happy  year.  Many  precious  souls  were  born  into  the 
kingdom,  and  united  with  us  in  Church  fellowship. 
When  the  labors  of  this  second  year  closed,  I  found 
the  mutual  attachment  between  pastor  and  people 
to  be  stronger  than  at  the  end  of  the  first  year. 
Religion  is  pre-eminently  a  social  principle.  It 
cements  Christian  hearts  into  one — lays,  deep  and 
broad,  the  foundation  for  reciprocal  love  and  friend- 
ship in  this  life,  and  fits  us  for  eternal  association  in 
the  kingdom  of  our  Father  above. 

"  And  if  our  fellowship  below 

In  Jesus  be  so  sweet, 
What  hight  of  rapture  shall  we  know, 

When  round  his  throne  we  meet !" 


92  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

The  next  session  of  our  conference  was  held  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  which  furnished  occasion  for  my 
first  visit  to  that  great  emporium  of  trade.  On  the 
first  Sabbath,  I  had  an  appointment  to  preach  in  the 
Green-Street  Church,  which  I  did  from  the  words, 
"  Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilcad  ?  Is  there  no  physician 
there  ?"  Had  but  a  moderate  time,  as  it  was  a  new 
thing  with  me  to  preach  in  a  great  city.  Subse- 
quently, however,  I  had  precious  times  in  holding 
forth  the  word  of  life,  in  Duane-Street,  Allen-Street, 
and  in  the  old  John-Street  Church,  on  the  spot  where 
was  erected  the  first  Methodist  church  in  America. 
The  "city  folks"  were  fond  of  listening  to  the 
preachers  from  up  north,  and  Ave  frequently  had  a 
shout  in  the  congregation  ;  and,  I  doubt  not,  that, 
when  favored  with  an  old-fashioned  Gospel  sermon, 
some  of  the  New  York  Methodists  will  yet  shout 
forth  the  praise  of  God  in  the  midst  of  the  Lord's 
house ;  for,  there  are  among  them,  not  only  warm- 
hearted Christians, .  but  some  genuine,  whole-souled 
Methodists. 

I  have  sometimes  been  pained  to  hear  a  certain 
class  of  our  members  in  the  country,  insinuate  that 
city  Methodists  were  destitute  of  the  life  and  power  of 
experimental  religion,  and  were  too  proud  and  formal 
to  possess  the  living  faith  that  should  characterize  the 
followers  of  Christ.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  it  can 
not  be  questioned  that  some  of  the  members  in  the 
city  look  upon  the  membership  in  the  country  as 
destitute   of    true    Christian    refinement,    if    not   as 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  93 

ignorant  enthusiasts.  But  I  am  happy  to  know  that 
these  improper  views  are  entertained  only  by  such 
of  each  class  as  have  had  little  or  no  opportunity  of 
mingling  with  those  whose  religious  character  they 
underrate.  If  there  could  be  more  intercourse 
between  country  and  city  Methodists,  there  would 
be  found  to  exist  more  oneness  of  sentiment  and 
feeling  among  them,  than  is  frequently  supposed. 
The  spirit  of  Methodism  is  the  same  every-where. 
It  is  in  reality  but  the  spirit  of  genuine  Christianity 
itself,  and,  therefore,  is  capable  of  adaptation  to 
all  the  varied  circumstances  of  human  life.  While 
Methodism  can  not  be  bent,  in  spirit,  to  all  the 
gayeties  and  follies  of  fashionable  life,  it  does  not 
adopt  an  "iron  bedstead"  law,  so  as  to  prevent 
conformity  to  the  decent  usages  of  society.  Chris- 
tianity is  designed  to  rule  in  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  earth,  by  diffusing  through  all  a  spirit  and 
power  to  mold  the  life  after  the  Gospel  standard, 
without  bringing  all  the  nations  under  one  form  of 
civil  and  social  law;  and  so  Methodism,  which  is 
"Christianity  in  earnest,"  is,  and  ought  to  be,  sus- 
ceptible of  those  outward  modifications  which  different 
communities  imperatively  demand,  so  far  as  such 
modifications  can  be  made  without  marring  her  spirit, 
but  no  farther! 

In  attending  to  the  business  of  conference,  at  this 
session,  in  listening  to  remarks  of  older  brethren  in 
the  ministry,  and  hearing  the  representations  of  the 
work    of  the   Lord,   in   the    different    parts   of  our 


94  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

geographical  boundaries,  I  was  instructed  and  edified. 
Like  as  the  officers  of  an  army,  after  a  successful 
engagement  with  an  obstinate  foe,  meet  and  detail 
the  progress  of  the  battle,  as  it  transpired  under  their 
immediate  supervision,  in  different  parts  of  the 
extended  field  of  strife,  so  these  ministers  of  truth, 
officers  in  the  army  of  the  Lord,  report  at  their 
annual  convocation,  the  advancement  made  at  differ- 
ent points,  and  the  trophies  won  under  the  banner  of 
the  cross,  and  shout  together  the  praises  of  the 
Captain  of  their  salvation,  through  whose  wisdom 
and  power  they  have  been  led  to  achieve  their  glori- 
ous victories.     At  the  close  of  the  session,  Mr.  C , 

the  gentleman  with  whom  I  boarded,  favored  me  with 
some  fine  presents,  for  which  I  was  truly  grateful,  as 
the  pittance  received  from  my  circuit  was  entirely 
inadequate  to  meet  the  wants  of  my  family.  At  his 
urgent  request,  I  mostly  afterward  put  up  with  him, 
during  my  visits  to  the  city,  and  he  never  failed  to 
bestow  upon  me  some  substantial  evidence  of  his 
undissembled  friendship,  and  true  Christian  gen- 
erosity. His  presents,  though  not  large,,  were  always 
useful.  Whosoever  giveth  to  a  disciple,  shall  not 
lose  his  reward. 

The  conference  closed  with  a  sterling  address  from 
the  Bishop,  after  which  we  were  all  soon  en  route  for 
our  respective  fields  of  toil,  suffering,  and  triumph. 

"  When  we  asunder  part, 

It  gives  us  inward  pain  ; 
But  we  shall  still  be  join'd  in  heart, 

And  hope  to  meet  again." 


A    SUPERANNUATE 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CHARLOTTE   CIRCUIT  — TWO   YEARS. 

At  the  close  of  the  conference  of  May,  1814,  my 
appointment  was  to  the  Charlotte  circuit,  in  Vermont. 
My  family  had  lived  two  years  in  Hubbardstown,  in 

a  house  furnished  by  Major  H- ,  who  generously 

offered  us  the  use  of  it  another  year,  if  my  family 
would  remain.  I  felt  unwilling  to  leave  them,  and 
we  proceeded  to  move  to  our  circuit.  The  roads  were 
now  extremely  bad.  The  Government  had  been  haul- 
ing cannon  and  other  munitions  of  war,  and  cut  them 
up  so  that  they  were  almost  impassable.  When  we 
succeeded  in  getting  through  to  Muncietown,  where 
we  expected  to  find  a  house  in  readiness,  we  ascer- 
tained that  there  was  none  provided,  and  none  in  the 
place  that  could  be  rented.  We  stored  away  our  fur- 
niture under  a  shed,  where  it  remained  till  we  suc- 
ceeded in  renting  part  of  a  house  for  a  few  months. 
After  some  time,  an  infidel,  a  physician  in  the  place, 
offered  us  the  use  of  a  house,  if  we  would  accept  it. 
We  did  so,  and  moved  in,  thankful  for  \he  kindness, 
though  the  house  was  not  very  comfortable. 

And  here  let  me  speak  of  the  infidel  doctor.  He 
was  a  man  of  noble,  generous  impulses,  though,  like 
too  many  others,  he  imbibed  infidel  principles  while 


96  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

in  college.  He  informed  me,  himself,  that  he  was 
established  in  disbelief  of  the  Scriptures  before  leav- 
ing the  institution.  When  will  all  our  colleges  be- 
come nurseries  of  Scriptural  Christianity,  instead  of 
"hot-beds"  of  corrupting  infidelity?  Heaven  hasten 
the  day !  Some  think  the  Church  is  turning  aside 
from  her  appropriate  work  when  she  is  vigorously 
laboring  to  endow  colleges,  and  to  build  up  institu- 
tions of  learning  under  her  immediate  supervision 
and  control.  This  is  a  grand  mistake.  The  Church 
never  will  accomplish  her  glorious  mission  fully  till 
she  provides  for  the  education  of  her  children  under 
such  circumstances  as  will  effectually  guard  them  from 
the  poisonous  skepticism  that  lurks  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  too  many  colleges.  I  bless  God,  the  Church 
is  becoming  conscious  of  her  responsibility  at  this 
point.  Like  the  prophet  casting  salt  into  the  springs 
to  heal  the  waters  of  Jericho,  she  is  beginning  to 
purify  these  fountains  of  moral  influence,  that  there 
may  issue  therefrom  no  more  the  streams  of  moral 
death.  But  the  doctor  now  discovered  his  error,  and 
came  to  my  house  three  times  in  one  night  to  ask  me 
to  pray  for  him.  He  was  in  an  awful  agony  of  soul. 
He  said  he  had  cursed  his  only  Savior,  and  feared 
there  was  no  mercy  for  him.  I  told  him  that  Jesus 
died  for  sinners — for  sinners  of  every  class  and  hue — 
that  he  invites  all  who  labor  and  are  heavy  laden  to 
come  unto  him,  and  promises  to  give  them  rest.  I 
assured  him  that  the  promises  of  the  Gospel  were  not 
yea  and  nay,  but  yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus,  and 


*A     SUPERANNUATE.  97 

that  heaven  and  earth  would  pass  away  sooner  than 
any  one  of  them  shall  fail.  I  urged  him  to  look  to 
Calvary — to  the  rejected,  despised  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
who  prayed  for  his  enemies  while  hanging  upon  the 
cross  in  the  agony  of  death — as  his  only  refuge.  He 
did  look  to  Christ.  He  pleaded  and  groaned  for  par- 
don through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant, 
and  found  peace  in  believing.  What  a  blessed  change 
was  this!  The  caviling  skeptic  was  humbled  to  the 
foot  of  the  cross,  and  by  the  power  of  divine  grace, 
was  renewed  and  clothed  in  his  right  mind.  His  de- 
spairing wail  of  agony  gave  place  to  the  song  of 
victory  and  thanksgiving.  After  this,  he  often  took 
me  with  him  to  visit  his  patients,  to  talk  and  pray 
with  them ;  and  he  would  join  in  the  delightful  work 
of  pointing  the  sick  and  dying  to  the  Lamb  of  God 
that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  And  what  a 
field  of  usefulness  is  open  to  the  pious  physician! 
He  can  whisper  "  Jesus"  in  the  ear  of  many  to  whom 
the  minister  can  have  no  access.  Would  to  God  that 
all  who  practice  the  " healing  art"  were  men  of  faith 
and  prayer ! 

Some  time  this  summer,  there  was  to  be  a  camp 
meeting  on  Brandon  circuit,  and  having  traveled  there, 
the  two  previous  years,  I  felt  anxious  to  attend  it. 
The  time  came — I  made  ready  and  started,  but,  when 
fourteen  miles  from  home,  was  taken  sick.  It  was 
thought  the  attack  would  prove  fatal.  My  wife  was 
sent  for,  and  we  remained  several  weeks.    The  friends 

were  very  kind,  and  did  all  in  their  power  to  make  us 

9 


98  RECOLLECTIONS     OP 

comfortable.  Many  of  the  preachers  called  to  see 
me,  and  sung  and  prayed  with  me,  on  their  return 
from  camp  meeting.  They  told  me  that  if  prayer 
would  keep  me  alive,  I  would  not  die  then;  for  they 
had  never  heard  so  many  prayers  for  one  person  as 
wTere  offered  for  me  on  the  camp-ground.  "The 
effectual,  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 
much."  When  I  became  some  better,  they  put  me  in  a 
carriage  and  took  me  home,  where  I  remained  several 
months  before  I  was  able  to  preach.  During  this 
long  affliction  the  grace  of  God  sustained  my  heart. 
"We  were  now  living  nearer  the  seat  of  war  than 
we  had  been  before.  We  were  only  seven  miles  from 
the  Lake,  on  which  M'Donough's  celebrated  battle 
was  fought.  Every  thing  relative  to  our  safety  de- 
pended on  the  success  of  the  American  arms  in  that 
desperate  conflict.  About  the  1st  of  September,  Sir 
George  Prevost,  commander  of  the  British  forces, 
moved  his  army  to  Plattsburg,  and  the  British  fleet 
sailed  up  Lake  Champlain,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
a  simultaneous  attack,  by  land  and  water.  The  Brit- 
ish forces  were  far  superior  to  the  American,  both 
in  numbers  and  training — they  consisting  of  veteran 
troops  recently  transported  from  the  European  wars 
which  had  just  terminated.  Generals  Macomb  and 
Moores  hastily  collected  what  forces  they  could — con- 
sisting, in  large  part,  of  New  York  militia,  and  pre- 
pared to  meet  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  check,  if  possible,  this  portentous  invasion.  The 
Americans   abandoned  the  town  at  the  approach  of 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  99 

the  enemy,  and  it  was  occupied  hj  the  British.  The 
place  is  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Saranac,  near 
its  entrance  into  the  Lake,  and  the  American  works 
were  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream.  Here  the 
Americans  prepared  to  give  battle  to  their  haughty 
foe.  The  American  fleet  was  also  inferior  to  that 
of  the  British.  Our  vessels  carried  eighty-six  guns, 
and  eight  hundred  men,  while  the  British  had  ninety- 
five  guns  and  over  a  thousand  men.  In  every  re- 
spect the  odds  were  fearfully  against  us.  It  was  a 
beautiful  Sabbath  morning,  the  11th  of  September, 
when,  at  nine  o'clock,  we  heard  the  thunder  of  the 
cannon  on  the  Lake.  I  was  just  able  to  walk  out 
with  my  cane.  For  a  few  minutes,  my  mind  was 
considerably  agitated ;  then  all  was  calm  within. 
I  trusted  that  the  God  of  power,  who  sustained  our 
fathers  through  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  would 
give  us  the  victory  that  day.  The  people  in  the 
neighborhood  rushed  to  the  scene  of  action.  It  was 
an  awfully  solemn  time.  The  roar  of  artillery,  the 
rattle  of  musketry,  with  the  vivid  impression  that 
scores  of  immortal  souls  were  rushing  into  the  eter- 
nal world,  combined  to  inspire  in  my  heart  emotions 
of  no  ordinary  character. 

The    Rev.  Mr.  W ,    of  Fairfield,    Vermont,    a 

Presbyterian  minister,  called  upon  the  people  of  his 
parish  to  come  to  the  rescue.  A  large  number  of 
them  joined  with  him,  and  they  hurried  to  the  field. 
In  crossing  the  Lake,  their  boat  ran  aground — where- 
upon the  preacher  cried  out,  "  Follow  me,  boys!"  and 


100  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

dashed  into  the  water.  They  followed  him,  gained 
the  shore,  and  were  soon  in  the  midst  of  the  battle. 
The  "  old  priest,"  as  they  called  him,  was  soon 
discovered  down  on  his  knees,  taking  deliberate  aim 
at  a  "red  coat." 

The  engagement  commenced  on  water  and  land, 
at  the  same  hour.  The  British  troops  on  land  made 
several  desperate  efforts  to  cross  the  Saranac,  so  as 
to  storm  the  American  works,  but  were  foiled  in 
every  attempt ;  while  the  air  was  full  of  flying  bombs, 
rockets,  and  hot  balls,  carrying  death  across  the 
stream.  On  the  water,  every  vessel  was  brought  into 
action  at  once,  and  for  over  two  hours  the  deadly 
strife  raged  with  fury,  the  victory  seemingly  poised 
equally  between  the  contending  forces,  when  the 
Saratoga,  of  the  American  fleet,  performed  a  most 
difficult  maneuver ;  she  warped  round,  and  brought 
to  bear  a  fresh  broadside,  which  soon  determined 
the  fate  of  the  day.  Some  of  the  enemy's  vessels 
sunk,  a  few  escaped,  and  the  rest  surrendered.  The 
loss  of  the  Americans  was  fifty-two  killed  and  fifty- 
eight  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  British  was  eighty- 
four  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  ten  wounded,  and 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-six  prisoners.  On  land,  the 
firing  was  kept  up  till  night ;  then,  under  cover  of 
the  darkness,  the  whole  force  of  Sir  George  Pre- 
vost  precipitately  fled,  leaving  behind  the  sick  and 
wounded,  with  large  quantities  of  munitions  of  war, 
much  of  which  was  discovered  to  be  buried  in  the 
earth. 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  101 

This  was  a  most  brilliant  victory,  and  put  an  end 
to  the  war  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  through  that 
part  of  the  country.  The  sensations  of  joy  that 
filled  the  hearts  of  thousands,  as  the  tidings  of 
victory  spread  from  place  to  place,  may  be  imagined, 
but  never  can  be  described.  God  grant  that  the 
quiet  of  the  holy  Sabbath  may  never  again  be  dis- 
turbed, in  this  lovely  land,  by  the  din  of  battle  or 
the  alarm  of   war. 

But  as  Christians,  we  have  a  battle  to  fight  with 
weapons  which  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty,  through 
God,  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds.  "  For  we 
wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  prin- 
cipalities, against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the 
darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness 
in  high  places." 

"  Angels  our  march  oppose, 

Who  still  in  strength  excel — 
Our  secret,  sworn,  eternal  foes, 

Countless,  invisible. 
From  thrones  of  glory  driven, 

By  flaming  vengeance  hurl'd, 
They  throng  the  air,  and  darken  heaven, 

And  rule  this  lower  world." 

This  conflict  began  in  Eden,  when  appetite  gained 
the  first  victory  over  duty.  Then  the  "  Prince  of 
darkness  "  became  the  "  god  of  this  world ;"  but  he 
was  scarcely  seated  on  his  usurped  throne,  before  the 
proclamation  issued  from  the  palace  of  the  Lord  of 
lords  that  the  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the 
serpent's  head.     And  when  the  fullness  of  time  was 


102  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

come,  God  sent  forth  his  son  in  the  likeness  of 
sinful  man ;  that,  in  the  nature  of  man,  as  "  the 
seed  of  the  woman,"  he  might  destroy  the  works  of 
the  devil.  He  grappled  with  the  monster  in  his  own 
domain,  by  dying  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  came 
oif  with  the  triumphant  shout  of  victory,  "  I  am  he 
that  liveth,  and  was  dead;  and  behold,  I  am  alive 
for  evermore,  amen  ;  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and 
of  death!"  He  is  the  Captain  of  our  salvation.  In 
his  name  we  trust.  By  his  grace  we  may  withstand 
all  the  assaults  of  the  devil,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
strife  against  the  powers  of  darkness,  sing — 

"What  though  a  thousand  hosts  engage 
A  thousand  worlds,  my  soul  to  shake ; 

I  have  a  shield  shall  quell  their  rage, 
And  drive  the  alien  armies  back  : 

Portray *d  it  bears  a  bleeding  lamb; 

I  dare  believe  in  Jesus'  name." 

But  to  return.  I  found  Methodism  on  this  circuit 
the  same  as  in  my  former  fields.  Nothing  of  verj" 
especial  interest  transpired  in  our  bounds.  It  was 
a  year  of  much  personal  affliction  ;  so  that  I  was  in 
a  great  measure  disabled  from  putting  forth  the 
active  efforts  for  the  promotion  of  the  good  work 
that  I  desired.  My  powers  of  endurance,  after  the 
protracted  illness  of  the  summer,  were  not  sufficient 
to  justify  severe  labors  through  the  winter  season  ; 
yet,  when  able,  I  followed  the  regular  routine  of 
duties  on  the  circuit,  and  found  that  my  labors  were 
not  in  vain   in  the  Lord.     I  found  many  excellent 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  103 

spirits  on  this  circuit,  and  closed  the  year,  thankful 
to  God,  that  through  scenes  of  deep  affliction,  and 
the  ragings  of  war,  he  had  preserved  us  alive  and 
restored  my  wonted  health. 

Our  next  conference  sat  in  the  city  of  Albany. 
At  this  session  I  was  ordained  elder,  by  the  venerable 
Bishop  M'Kendree.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Phoebus  preached 
the  ordination  sermon  from  2  Cor.  vi,  7 :  "  By  pure- 
ness,  by  knowledge,  by  long-suffering,  by  kindness, 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  love  unfeigned.''  The  dis- 
course contained  many  remarks  calculated  to  impress 
the  mind  with  the  importance  of  a  thorough  qualifi- 
cation for  the  ministerial  office,  especially  by  pos- 
sessing the  Holy  Ghost,  and  love  unfeigned.  The 
venerable  Bishop  Asbury  was  with  us,  and  I  think 
this  was  the  last  session  of  our  conference  he  ever 
attended. 

From  this  conference — May,  1815 — I  was  returned 
to  the  Charlotte  circuit.  This  was  very  satisfactory 
to  myself  and  family,  and  seemed  equally  pleasing 
to  my  friends  in  the  circuit.  They  gave  me  a  cor- 
dial welcome ;  and  as  I  had  been  so  much  hindered 
from  efficient  service  the  previous  year,  on  account 
of  affliction,  I  now  felt  like  devoting  my  energies 
anew  to  God  and  his  work.  The  conference  sent 
along  with  me  my  son  in  the  Gospel,  the  Rev.  Nicho- 
las White,  of  whose  conversion  I  have  before  spoken. 
He  was  a  faithful  laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  the 
Lord — but  he  over-taxed  his  physical  powers,  pro- 
duced   hemorrhage    from    the    lungs,   and    found   it 


104  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

necessary  to  desist  from  preaching  for  some  time. 
He  was  able  to  preach  but  little,  for  several  years ; 
but  at  length  recovered  his  health,  was  made  effective, 
and  continued  in  the  work  till  one  or  two  years 
ago.  Since  then,  I  suppose  he  is  like  his  father 
in  the  Gospel,  "  superannuated."  But  if  he  had 
strength,  I  doubt  not  that  he  would  still  rush  into 
the  thickest  of  the  battle,  and  fight  valiantly  for  his 
king  and  his  God.  He  was  a  worthy  man,  a  faithful 
minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  a  most  companion- 
able colleague.  We  traveled  together  harmoni- 
ously, and  the  Lord  gave  us  many  souls  as  seals  to 
our  ministry. 

In  Starksboro,  we  were  favored  with  a  precious 
revival  of  religion,  in  which  we  had  the  pleasure  of 
receiving  a  large  number  into  the  Church.  Here 
lived  two  twin  brothers,  who  were  awakened  on  the 
same  day,  both  converted  on  one  day,  received  into 
the  Church  on  the  same  day,  both  licensed  to  exhort 
at  once,  licensed  to  preach  at  the  same  time,  recom- 
mended for  the  traveling  connection  both  at  once,  and 
finally  admitted  into  the  conference  on  the  same  day. 
At  several  other  points  on  the  circuit,  the  Church  was 
blessed  with  the  outpourings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
sinners  came  flocking  to  the  "ark  of  safety"  like 
clouds,  and  as  doves  to  their  windows. 

In  the  course  of  this  year,  in  a  village  above  where 
my  family  lived,  the  people — and  I  do  not  know  that 
there  was  a  professor  of  religion  among  them — built 
a  neat  house  of  worship  and  finished  it  completely, 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  105 

with  cupola  and  bell,  and  then  invited  me  to  settle 
among,  them  as  pastor.  Among  other  things,  they 
said,  "  Mr.  Lewis,  your  people  do  not  pay  their  min- 
isters enough  for  a  comfortable  support — come  settle 
with  us  and  preach  for  us,  and  we  will  pay  you  bet- 
ter." I  knew  we  did  not  get  enough  to  support  our 
families,  but  I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  leave 
the  itinerancy  on  that  account;  so,  in  my  answer,  I 
said  to  them.  "  The  Savior's  command  is,  '  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture ;'  but  I  do  not  find  that  he  ever  said,  '  Stay  and 
preach.' "  Afterward,  I  went  and  preached  for  them 
from  these  words :  "  I  must  preach  the  kingdom  of 
God  to  other  cities  also,  for  therefore  am  I  sent."  In 
discoursing  on  these  words,  I  took  occasion  to  give 
my  views  of  the  relative  advantages  of  a  settled  and 
traveling  ministry,  after  which  they  ceased  to  impor- 
tune. I  subsequently  learned  that  the  preachers  who 
followed  us  on  this  field,  embraced  that  place  in  their 
regular  labors,  and  that  they  had  a  glorious  revival  of 
religion;  the  people  became  converted,  joined  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  their  appointment, 
so  novelly  begun,  became  a  strong  point  on  the  circuit. 
The  place  is  probably  a  station  ere  this;  for  it  is  now 
over  forty  years  since  they  built  the  meeting-house, 
and  invited  me  to  become  their  preacher.  In  that 
time  great  changes  occur — some  for  the  better,  and 
some  that  do  not  work  so  well.  But  I  bless  God, 
that  in  all  the  changes  that  have  taken  place,  the 
doctrines  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  remain 


106  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

unchanged;  and  I  trust  in  God  that  those  doctrines 
will  ever  remain  unchanged;  for  I  have  the  most 
unwavering  belief  that  the  founders  of  our  denomi- 
nation hit  upon  the  true  theology  of  the  Bible. 

And  I  still  believe  the  Methodist  Church  polity  is 
the  best  in  the  world.  Disaffected  persons  may  cry 
out  "Despotism,"  "Tyranny,"  "Episcopacy,"  etc., 
but  I  have  lived  within  her  pale  a  great  many  years, 
and  never  yet  found  her  economy  oppressive.  And 
no  one  need  be  alarmed  about  oppression  in  the 
Methodist  Church,  who  wishes  to  be  a  self-denying, 
devoted  Christian,  and  lay  himself  out  to  do  good 
in  his  day  and  generation.  But  when  persons 
become  worldly  and  restless,  and  wish  to  make  a 
fair  show  in  religion  without  possessing  its  life  and 
power,  then  her  rules  are  found  too  stringent,  and 
the  cry  of  oppression  is  soon  raised.  So  in  re- 
gard to  the  ministry.  A  God-fearing,  self-sacrific- 
ing Christian  minister,  whose  object  is  to  do  good 
and  save  souls,  never  finds  room  for  complaint; 
but  the  worldly,  time-serving,  half-hearted  preacher, 
whose  soul  is  not  consecrated  to  the  work  of  Christ, 
finds  the  itinerancy  laborious,  burdensome,  oppres- 
sive. All  I  am,  and  all  I  have,  I  owe,  under  God, 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  all  her 
trials,  she  has  had  my  sympathy  and  prayers,  and 
in  all  her  glorious  triumphs  my  heart  has  rejoiced. 
In  her  ministry,  I  have  had  a  good  share  of  hard- 
ship and  toil,  but,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  have  not 
shunned   the  cross,  nor    shrunk  from  responsibility, 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  107 

and    my  heart    has    been  kept   at  peace  with   God, 
and  in  love  to  his   Church. 

"Beyond  my  highest  joy, 

I  prize  his  heavenly  ways ; 
Her  sweet  communion,  solemn  vows, 
Her  hymns  of  love  and  praise." 

I  closed  my  second  year  on  Charlotte  circuit, 
having  preached  in  several  places  where  Methodist 
preachers  had  not  been  permitted  before  to  deliver 
their  messages  to  the  people.  One  had  been  beaten 
with  rods,  or  with  the  cow-hide,  and  others  were 
most  shamefully  treated ;  but  in  my  day  there,  the 
prejudices  of  the  people  were  yielding,  and  they 
have  since  then  broken  down.  The  light  of  a  pure 
Gospel  will  always  break  off  the  shackles  of  prejudice, 
and  emancipate  the  people  from  the  thraldom  of 
bigotry.  It  discovers  to  men  their  heaven-born 
right  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
their  own  consciences.  There  is  nothing  like  it  to 
conquer  the  captious  spirit  of  sectarianism.  May 
it  shine  more  and  more  till  Christ  shall  come  in  glory 
to  make  up  his  jewels!  "  Then  shall  ye  return  and 
discern  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  be- 
tween him  that  serveth  God  and  him  that  serveth 
him  not." 


108  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BRANDON    CIRCUIT    AGAIN  — TWO    YEARS. 

Our  conference  sat  in  May,  1816,  in  New- York 
city,  but  owing  to  the  ill-health  of  my  wife,  I  did  not 
attend.  "We  were  this  year  sent  again  to  Brandon 
circuit,  which  was  quite  gratifying  to  myself  and  fam- 
ily. We  were,  of  course,  well  acquainted,  and  per- 
haps more  attached  to  the  people  of  that  circuit,  than 
of  any  place  in  which  we  had  lived.  My  mind  was 
also  free  from  anxiety  in  reference  to  the  matter,  for 
one  of  the  stewards  had  visited  the  presiding  elder 
in  order  to  induce  him  to  use  his  influence  to  have  me 
sent  there.  We  soon  moved  hack  to  Hubbardstown, 
where  we  resided  the  other  two  years  we  were  on  the 
circuit.  The  Rev.  J.  Byington  was  my  colleague.  He 
was  an  elderly  man,  though  he  had  only  traveled  a 
few  years.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  mind,  a  good 
reasoner,  and  a  very  fine  theologian  ;  but  on  some 
account  he  was  not  very  popular  with  the  people. 
Men  are  not  always  valued  according  to  their  real 
worth.  People  are  apt  to  be  attracted  by  the  tinsel 
of  oratory,  while  they  overlook  the  pure  gold  of  rea- 
son and  truth. 

We  took  in  a  new  appointment  in  Poultney — 
preached  a  few  times,  and  then  the  people  in  whose 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  109 

house  our  meetings"  were  held,  told  me  they  would  be 
pleased  to  have  us  continue  preaching  there,  but  their 
neighbors  were  so  much  opposed  to  my  colleague, 
that  they  threatened  to  have  no  friendship  with  them, 
if  they  permitted  him  to  preach  in  their  house.  They 
said  to  me,  "You  can  preach  here,  but  your  col- 
league will  have  to  desist."  I  replied  that  I  and 
my  colleague  were  one  in  the  work — that  he  was  a 
worthy  man  and  ought  to  be  heard,  and  that  I  could 
not  consent  to  preach  where  he  was  not  permitted  to 
do  the  same.  Then  a  gentleman  living  some  three 
miles  distant,  invited  us  to  preach  in  his  house.  We 
did  so,  and  found  large  and  attentive  congregations, 
where  we  could  worship  in  peace,  and  some  good  was 
done  in  the  name  of  our  divine  Master.  "We  met  with 
some  opposition  at  nearly  every  point,  but  the  good 
Lord  gave  us  favor  in  the  eyes  of  many  people,  and 
souls  were  converted  through  the  instrumentality  of 
his  own  truth,  and  united  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

In  the  early  part  of  this  year,  a  young  man  whose 
parents  were  Baptists,  went  to  New  York  city,  for 
the  benefit  of  his  health,  and  while  there  attended 
meeting  in  the  old  John-Street  Methodist  church, 
where,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  heard  a  Meth- 
odist sermon.  After  returning,  he  came  and  told  me 
of  his  visit  to  the  city,  and  of  the  sermon,  and  invited 
me  to  come  over  and  preach  in  the  township  in  which 
he  lived.  I  sent  an  appointment — went,  and  found 
ten  or  twelve  persons  assembled  to  hear  the  stranger ; 


110  RE  COLLECTIONS     OF 

preached,  and  left  another  appointment.  There  were 
more  out  on  my  next  visit;  the  new  doctrine  seemed  to 
attract  some  attention ;  and  this  gave  me  encourage- 
ment to  hope  that  the  seed  sown  would  soon  produce 
some  fruit.  When  preaching  was  over,  about  a  dozen 
young  people  went  into  an  adjoining  room,  and  com- 
menced singing  some  pieces  of  music.  I  went  in  and 
proposed  to  take  part,  and  after  singing  several  tunes 
with  them,  took  occasion  to  make  some  remarks  in 
regard  to  the  privilege  of  singing  the  high  praises  of 
our  Redeemer,  and  spoke  of  the  fearful  state  of  those 
who  are  cast  out  from  his  presence,  and  forever 
deprived  of  the  delight  and  joy  attending  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  praise  of  God  in  his  holy  habitation  above. 
The  remarks  were  kindly  received,  seeming  to  make 
good  impressions  on  the  minds  of  the  young  persons, 
and  in  order  to  improve  the  occasion  still  further,  I 
invited  them  to  kneel  with  me  in  prayer ;  and  while 
my  heart  was  lifted  up  to  heaven,  invoking  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  them,  a  scene  presented  itself 
such  as  angels  delight  to  gaze  upon.  My  young 
friends  began  to  cry  for  mercy ;  the  great  deep  of 
their  hearts  was  broken  up,  and  they  poured  forth 
their  undissembled  anguish,  pleading  for  salvation  in 
the  name  of  Jesus.  I  continued  praying  with  them 
and  pointing  them  to  the  "  Lamb  for  sinners  slain," 
till  four  of  them  were  happily  converted  to  God.  Be- 
fore leaving,  I  said  to  them,  "Now,  my  young  friends, 
in  four  weeks  from  this  time,  I  shall  expect  to  see  you 
in  this  room  and  learn  how  you  are  getting  along." 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  Ill 

But  before  I  came  again,  the  Baptists  had  three  of 
them  under  the  water,  and,  of  course,  into  the  Bap- 
tist Church.  Although  the  Baptists  and  Congrega- 
tionalists  denounced  us  as  "false  teachers,"  and 
''wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,"  they  were  very  willing 
to  take  our  converts  on  their  Methodist  experience. 
At  my  next  appointment,  I  found  the  house  crowded 
to  overflowing,  and  preached  from  Hebrews  ii,  3 : 
"  How  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  salva- 
tion ?"  We  had  a  glorious  season.  In  a  short  time 
we  organized  a  class  here,  and  continued  to  preach; 
for  the  Lord  commanded  his  blessing  upon  us,  so  that 
prosperity  attended  us.  Those  young  converts  who 
were  enticed  into  the  Baptist  Church,  came  back, 
bringing  their  parents  with  them ;  and  they  all  con- 
tinued steadfast  in  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles,  in 
prayers,  in  fellowship,  and  in  the  breaking  of  bread, 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church ;  and  great  grace 
rested  upon  them.  After  organizing  a  society,  and 
establishing  a  regular  appointment,  we  applied  for 
the  use  of  the  school-house  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
preached  in  it  a  few  times ;  but  the  teacher  was  a 
Congregationalist,  and  being  violently  opposed  to  us, 
locked  up  the  house.  But  God  raised  us  up  a  friend 
in  the  person  of  a  gentleman  of  materialistic  senti- 
ments. He  was  a  man  of  wealth,  had  attended  some 
of  our  meetings,  and  now  proposed  to  furnish  us  a 
house  to  preach  in  which  he  owned  in  a  village  of 
considerable  size.  This  was  not  a  central  point  for 
Our  little  society,  but  it  was  a  fine  place  for  a  congre- 


112  RECOLLECTIONS     OP 

gation.  "  The  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee,  and 
the  remainder  of  wrath  shalt  thou  restrain."  God 
continued  to  smile  upon  us  for  good,  and  finally  I 
had  the  privilege  of  preaching  Christ  in  the  Baptist 
meeting-house,  in  the  center  of  the  township.  The 
school-teacher  who  locked  his  door  against  us,  came 
and  joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
brought  his  wife  along.  Now  the  Methodists  are  a 
flourishing,  influential  Church,  and  have  a  large 
house  of  worship  on  one  side  of  the  public  square. 
Truly,  the  handful  of  corn  on  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain shakes  like  Lebanon.  "  This  is  the  Lord's 
doing,  and  marvelous  in  our  eyes  I" 

The  summer  of  1816  was  a  cold,  dry  season,  far 
surpassing  any  known  to  me  in  all  my  experience. 
There  was  not  one-fourth  enough  corn  grown  in  the 
region  where  we  lived  to  fatten  meat  for  the  use 
of  the  people.  Wheat  was  very  poor;  potatoes 
almost  entirely  failed;  hay  was  less  than  the  fourth 
of  a  crop;  pastures  and  water-streams  dried  up 
completely,  and  the  cattle  could  be  heard  lowing 
mournfully  for  food  and  drink.  People  were  much 
alarmed.  The  horrors  of  famine  stared  them  in  the 
face.  I  went  to  a  gentleman  living  near  who  had 
a  quantity  of  old  wheat,  and  purchased  enough  to 
sustain  my  family  another  year,  paying  for  it  $2.25 
per  bushel.  In  Sudbury — the  place  in  which  I 
organized  a  new  society,  while  on  the  circuit  before — 
I  was  preaching  in  the  Presbyterian  meeting-house, 
upon  invitation  of  the  members,  their  minister  having 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  113 

left — and  proposed  having  a  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer,  in  view  of  the  prevailing  drought;  and  ap- 
pointed public  service  in  this  church.  But  what  I  wish 
to  notice  is,  that  the  people  left  their  farms,  houses, 
stores,  and  shops,  and  flocked  to  the  house  of  prayer. 
Even  wicked  men  came,  and  brought  their  hired 
hands  with  them  to  attend  divine  service.  Death, 
in  ghastly  array,  stood  before  them  and  their  cattle, 
making  them  willing,  and  then  they  could  find  time 
enough  to  come  out  and  join  with  us  in  the  solemn 
services  of  the  sanctuary.  This  circumstance  proves 
that  ungodly  men  have  some  confidence  in  prayer. 
In  fact,  there  is  scarcely  a  sane  man  to  be  found, 
who,  when  in  distress  or  threatened  with  calamity, 
does  not  wish  to  have  an  interest  in  the  prayers 
of  God's  people.  I  have  now  in  mind  another  melan- 
choly illustration  of  this  truth.  While  stationed  on 
the  island,  the  enemies  of  religion  sought  to  injure 
the  cause  of  Methodism  by  circulating  reports  derog- 
atory to  the  character  of  the  preacher;  and  none 
were  fonder  of  the  ridicule  heaped  upon  him,  or 
took  more  delight  in  bespattering  his  reputation  than 
a  certain  lawyer,  who  often  made  himself  and  others 
merry  by  repeating  silly  tales  hatched  up  for  the 
purpose.  But  he  was  suddenly  attacked  with  hemor- 
rhage of  the  lungs — then  he  immediately  sent  for 
me  to  come  and  pray  for  him!  I  went  in  haste, 
and  found  him  in  great  distress  of  mind.  Every 
lineament  of  his  face  bespoke  the  deep  agony  of  his 

soul.     I  praved  for  him,  and  urged  him  to  pray  for 
10 


114  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

himself.  He  replied  that  he  prayed  every  breath 
that  God  would  have  mercy  on  him  a  sinner;  but 
after  a  few  hours,  he  died,  and  I  attended  his  funeral. 
Men  can  easily  make  light  of  religion,  while  in  health 
and  prosperity,  but  when  eternity  presses  upon  their 
view,  if  they  have  their  senses,  they  will  want  Chris- 
tians to  counsel  and  pray  with  them.  Pause,  reader, 
and  think  of  this  ;  delay  not  to  make  thy  peace  with 
God  while  life  and  health  are  afforded  thee,  lest 
thou  also  be  brought  to  lie  upon  a  bed  of  death,  and 
feel  those  bitter  pangs  of  remorse  which  will  follow 
abused  mercies. 

The  year  was,  at  length,  drawing  to  a  close — and 
our  last  quarterly  meeting  was  postponed  a  little,  so 
as  to  fix  it  upon  a  time  when  we  could  secure  the 
services  of  brethren  on  their  way  to  conference.  By 
this  arrangement,  we  enjoyed  the  presence  and  labors 
of  Revs.  D.  Ostrander,  Dr.  Bangs,  S.  Merwin,  P.  P. 
Sanford,  and  other  worthy  men  of  God.  Brother 
Sanford  preached  on  Saturday,  and  at  night  we  had 
a  prayer  meeting.  This  was  our  invariable  custom, 
no  matter  how  many  preachers  were  present,  whether 
strangers  or  not.  On  Sabbath  morning,  Dr.  Bangs 
conducted  the  love-feast  exercises ;  and  a  feast  of 
love  it  was.  While  preachers  and  members  sketched 
their  experience,  the  heavenly  fire  burned  within  us. 
We  then  repaired  to  the  grove,  and  brother  Ostran- 
der preached  a  powerful  sermon  ;  this  was  followed 
by  a  stirring  exhortation  from  brother  Merwin,  under 
which  the  power  of  God   fell  upon  the  assembly  like 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  115 

successive  shocks  of  electricity.  The  moving  elo- 
quence of  the  speaker  enchained  the  large  audience, 
and  swept  like  a  resistless  tide,  overwhelming  all  in 
its  course.  A  number  of  preachers  sat  in  front  of 
the  stand,  and,  quick  as  the  lightning's  flash,  all 
were  at  once  overpowered  with  the  revealing  of  the 
Divine  glory,  while  the  whole  congregation,  as  if 
moved  with  one  Divine  impulse,  quaked  with  silent 
awe  before  the  majesty  of  the  mighty  God.  The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  rested  upon  his  servant — 
smote  the  hearts  of  sinners,  and  filled  his  people  with 
rejoicing.  In  the  afternoon,  our  meeting  closed  with 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  and  with  it  closed 
the  labors  of  another  conference  year  on  Brandon 
circuit.  That  was  a  delightful  season,  and  now  that 
forty  years  have  passed  away,  the  remembrance  is 
still  refreshing  to  me. 

The  next  morning  these  brethren  went  on  to  the 
seat  of  conference — Middlebury,  Vermont — and  the 
day  following  I  was  with  them.  This  was  the  first 
time  the  conference  was  held  so  far  north.  The  good 
people  of  Middlebury  exerted  themselves  to  entertain 
the  preachers  in  attendance,  well.  Bishops  M'Ken- 
dree  and  George  were  present,  and  we  had  a  harmo- 
nious session.  The  preaching  was  doctrinal,  practical, 
and  instructive.  Many  that  listened  to  the  great  and 
good  men  who  preached  the  Gospel  there,  went  away 
saying,  "  We  never  heard  it  on  this  fashion  ;"  some 
said,  "That  was  a  splendid  sermon;"  others  would 
say,    "  That's  a  smart  man — but  he  needs  indoctrin- 


116  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

ating!"  Bishop  George  preached  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  on  Sabbath  morning — text  not 
remembered — a  most  delightful  sermon.  His  -warm 
pathetic  appeals,  his  wholesome  Gospel  truths,  and 
his  startling  flights  of  oratory,  fired  every  Christian 
heart,  and  held,  spell-bound,  his  numerous  auditory. 
But  this  was  usual  with  the  Bishop.  He  was  an 
admirable  preacher — with  me,  a  great  favorite.  I 
would  love  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  that  sermon, 
but  it  is  impossible.  I  would  ride  twenty  miles,  any 
day,  to  hear  another  like  it.  Its  fruit  will  appear  in 
the  great  day.  Dr.  Emory — subsequently  bishop — 
preached  a  strong  sermon  in  the  court-house,  on 
regeneration.  Text:  "Ye  must  be  born  again." 
Bishop  M'Kendree  delivered  one  of  his  smooch, 
melting,  instructive  discourses,  in  the  Presbyterian 
church,  from  Jude  3 :  "  Beloved,  when  I  gave  all 
diligence  to  write  unto  you  of  the  common  salvation, 
it  was  needful  for  me  to  write  unto  }tou,  and  exhort 
you  that  ye  should  earnestly  contend  for  the  faith 
which  was  once  delivered  unto  the  saints."  Every 
eye  was  fixed  upon  the  venerable  speaker,  and  every 
ear  turned  to  catcli  the  words  as  they  proceeded  out 
of  his  mouth.  It  was  a  noble  effort,  and  I  doubt  not 
that  much  good  was  done. 

From  this  conference — May,  1817 — I  was  returned 
to  Brandon,  with  brother  James  Cowl  for  my  col- 
league. He  had  traveled  one  or  two  years,  and  was 
a  young  man  of  sterling  worth — had  a  good  mind — 
excellent   constitution — was   fond   of    study,    and,   I 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  117 

thought,  could  see  the  doctrine  of  a  text  quicker  than 
any  man  of  my  acquaintance.  He  loved  to  preach, 
and  the  people  loved  to  hear  him.  He  was,  subse- 
quently, stationed  in  New  York  city,  and,  finally,  had 
charge  of  the  Academy  in  Poultney.  He  died,  some 
years  ago,  greatly  lamented,  but  went  off  most 
triumphantly. 

We  were  pleased  to  have  the  privilege  of  remain- 
ing on  the  circuit  another  year — and  none  the  less  so 
from  the  fact  that  we  now  had  a  new  parsonage,  with 
better  accommodations  for  living  than  we  had  enjoyed 
since  we  commenced  traveling.  Myself  and  colleague 
were  soon  at  work,  preaching,  and  visiting  from  house 
to  house,  holding  something  like  family  class  meetings, 
in  which  we  inquired  of  the  different  persons  how 
their  souls  prospered,  and  urged  upon  them  the  neces- 
sity of  deep,  uniform  piety.  After  preaching  we 
detained  the  members  for  class,  urged  them  to  seek 
for  higher  attainments  in  religion,  and  to  be  in  life 
decidedly  Methodistic — that  is,  to  live  by  rule  or 
method,  having  every-day  religion ;  not  merely  hav- 
ing good  desires,  but  putting  them  into  constant, 
faithful  practice — -"  living  the  life  they  lived  in  the 
flesh,  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  them 
and  gave  himself  for  them."  We  sought  to  instill 
into  their  minds  the  truth,  that  "Methodist"  was 
only  another  name  for  a  genuine  Scriptural  Christian. 
Although  originally  given  in  derision,  it  was  adopted 
by  our  fathers  as  an  honorable,  expressive  appel- 
lation. 


118  RECOLLECTIONS      OF 

We  knew  well  that  in  order  to  have  a  revival,  there 
must  be  hearty  co-operation  between  the  members 
and  preachers — that  strong  faith  must  be  exercised 
by  the  Church,  as  well  as  by  the  ministers ;  hence, 
we  labored  to  see  the  Church  aroused,  to  put  on  her 
strength,  and  engage  with  us  in  direct  efforts  for  the 
salvation  of  souls.  And,  whenever  we  succeeded  in 
inducing  the  membership  to  covenant  together  to  pray 
two  or  three  times  a  day  for  the  special  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit,  the  cause  of  God  was  seen  to  advance. 
Faith  and  prayer  are  said  to  constitute  a  lever  that 
can  turn  the  world  upside  down.  This  is  just  what 
we  need.  The  moral  world  was  inverted  by  sin ;  it 
has  been  wrong  side  up,  to  the  extent  that  sin  has 
prevailed,  ever  since  the  progenitors  of  our  race  ate 
the  forbidden  fruit ;  but,  thank  heaven  !  there  is 
moral  power  in  the  Gospel  to  right  it  up  again. 
Religion  brings  revolted  man  back  to  God,  and  en- 
ables him  to  breathe  his  native  air.  It  restores  to 
him  his  forfeited  holiness — lights  up  in  his  soul  the 
fire  of  divine  love — resuscitates  the  dormant  energies 
of  his  moral  being,  and  constitutes  him  happy  in  the 
light  of  God's  reconciled  countenance.  "Who  would 
not  have  religion  !  Reader,  art  thou  still  unconverted? 
Is  thy  soul  destitute  of  spiritual  life?  Hast  thou  lived 
till  this  hour  without  God,  and  without  hope  in  the 
world  ?  Then  make  up  thy  mind  now,  that  thou  wilt 
not  rest  till  thy  soul  is  born  anew  from  above.  Thou 
art  standing  on  dangerous  ground  !  With  every  pul- 
sation of  thy  heart,   thou   art   verging  to  the  grave  ! 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  119 

Thou  mayest  now  be  on  the  trembling  margin  !  Be- 
fore thee  is  the  yawning  gulf !  Beneath  thy  feet  roll 
turbulent  waves  of  dark  damnation  !  Now,  0,  pre- 
cious soul,  think — 0,  think  of  thy  danger !  Look  at 
the  ceaseless  flow  of  everlasting  ages  !  Look  out — 
out — out  upon  the  limitless  duration  of  eternity  ! 
Eternity  !  eternity  !  Think  of  that  word !  Think  of 
night — dark,  rayless,  starless  night — night  drawn 
out  into  perpetual  continuance  !  Night  eternal, 
boundless,  merciless,  "  the  blackness  of  darkness 
forever!"  ''Canst  thou  dwell  with  everlasting  burn- 
ings? Canst  thou  dwell  with  devouring  fire?"  Canst 
thou  endure  the  gnawings  of  the  undying  worm  ? 
Then,  for  thy  soul's  sake,  make  haste  to  Jesus,  thy 
only  Savior.  Yield  thy  heart  to  him  in  earnest,  hum- 
ble, contrite  prayer.  Embrace,  by  faith,  his  precious 
promises.  "  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved." 

" Believe  in  him  -who  died  for  thee; 
And,  sure  as  he  hath  died, 
Thy  debt  is  paid,  thy  soul  is  free, 
And  thou  art  justified." 

And  now,  dear  reader,  whosoever  thou  art,  I  lift 
up  my  heart  for  thee  in  prayer,  that  for  Christ's  sake 
thou  mayest  be  led  to  venture  thy  all  on  the  merits 
of  the  Redeemer's  blood,  and  at  last  be  saved  in 
heaven ! 

Having  prepared  the  way  by  visiting,  the  people 
went  into  the  work  with  us  heartily,  and  omens  of 
good  began  to  appear ;  my  old  friends  were  at  their 


120  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

posts,  ready  to  stay  up  our  hands,  and  encourage  our 
hearts,  and  God  graciously  granted  us  a  year  of  pros- 
perity. At  the  close  of  my  first  year  of  this  terra  of 
service,  which  was  properly  my  third  year,  I  preached 
a  farewell  sermon  at  Mount  Holly,  from  these  words : 
"  Finally,  brethren,  farewell ;  be  perfect,  be  of  one 
mind,  live  in  peace,  and  the  God  of  peace  shall  be 
with  you."  On  going  back  to  that  place  to  commence 
another  year's  labor,  and  thinking  of  this  last  dis- 
course, my  mind  rested  on  the  following  words  as  an 
appropriate  foundation  for  a  sermon :  "  And  some 
days  after,  Paul  said  unto  Barnabas,  let  us  go  again 
and  visit  our  brethren  in  every  city  where  we  have 
preached  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  see  how  they 
do."  We  had  a  loving,  weeping  time.  I  told  them 
I  had  come  to  inquire  after  their  spiritual  health.  I 
rejoiced  to  find  them  in  prosperity.  God  was  with 
them  in  deed  and  in  truth.  The  young  converts  of 
the  previous  year  stood  firm,  and  were  growing  in 
grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
God  continued  to  favor  us  with  special  divine  influ- 
ence, so  that  this,  too,  was  a  blessed  year  for  Mount 
Holly. 

While  riding  to  one  of  my  appointments,  I  fell  in 
company  with  a  gentleman  who  had  an  intelligent 
appearance,  and  wishing  to  give  our  conversation  a 
religious  turn,  I  remarked,  on  passing  a  grove,  that 
there  was  a  fine  representation  of  the  human  family — 
that  there  were  the  young,  the  middle-aged,  and  the 
old ;  that  some  of  each  class  were  dying,  and  others 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  121 

rising  to  fill  their  places,  etc.  He  responded,  but 
gave  me  to  understand  that  his  religious  training  had 
been  of  the  prevailing  sort ;  the  doctrine  had  been 
carefully  instilled  into  his '  mind  that  God  foreor- 
dained -whatsoever  comes  to  pass.  I  asked  him  if  he 
believed  that  God  had  decreed  from  all  eternity  that 
he  and  I  should  ride  together  that  day  down  to  Bish- 
op's Corners?  He  said  he  had  not  the  least  doubt  of 
it.  "Well,  I  wiU  break  that  decree,"  said  I,  turning 
my  horse.  "  0,"  said  he,  "God  has  decreed  that  you 
should  go  no  farther."  "Then  I  will  break  that 
decree,"  said  I,  giving  my  horse  another  turn.  I 
now  told  him  that  my  actions  did  not  depend  on 
God's  decrees,  as  much  as  his  decrees  depend  on  my 
actions — not  that  God,  or  his  sovereign  purposes,  in 
any  wise,  depend  on  his  creatures,  only  that  in  form- 
ing decrees  respecting  us  individually,  the  divine 
prescience  does  take  our  dispositions  and  conduct  into 
the  account.  Looking  up  to  me  he  said,  "Are  you 
not  a  Methodist  preacher?"  I  answered  in  the  affirm- 
ative, adding  that  I  delighted  in  my  vocation. 

I  relate  this  to  show  that  whenever  we  approached 
persons  on  the  subject  of  religion,  we  were  met  by 
the  old  stereotyped  dogma  of  fatalism,  that  God  fore- 
ordained whatsoever  cometh  to  pass.  This  formed 
the  rampart  behind  which  the  formal  professor,  the 
moral  sinner,  the  vile  transgressor,  the  ranting  Deist, 
and  the  brawling  Universalist,  would  each  fortify 
himself  for  the  purpose- of  warding  off  the  heavy  blows 
of  Gospel  truth.  And  how  many  souls  have  perished 
11 


122  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

in  the  quicksands  of  this  monstrous  error,  can  only 
be  disclosed  by  unrolling  the  record  of  eternity !  Just 
look  at  it.  A  man  is  convinced  of  sin,  his  soul 
mourns  within  him  because  of  the  wickedness  of  his 
life ;  from  the  depth  of  a  contrite  heart  he  exclaims, 
"  0,  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  Who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death?"  How  chilling  to  the 
best  feeling  of  his  soul  to  be  told  that  God  foreor- 
dained whatsoever  cometh  to  pass!  How  blasphe- 
mous to  assure  him  that  his  sins  and  sorrows  alike 
originated  in  the  counsels  of  heaven !  And  how 
dreadful,  how  cruel  to  inform  him  that  God  decreed 
the  positive,  unconditional  salvation  of  a  definite 
number  for  whoru  the  Savior  died,  and  foreordained 
all  the  others  to  everlasting  death !  Under  such 
teaching,  how  soon  the  temptation  will  arise  that  he 
is  one  of  the  reprobates !  He  will  then  begin  to  rea- 
son, "  The  Redeemer  is  not  mine — is  not  any  thing 
to  me  which  he  is  not  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  world 
of  despair.  I  am  no  more  indebted  to  him — have  no 
more  right  to  sing  redeeming  love,  than  millions  of 
damned  spirits  !"  Thus  the  black  waves  of  despair 
overwhelm  his  anxious  soul,  till,  if  reason  be  not 
driven  from  her  throne,  he  drowns  his  convictions  by 
plunging  into  dissipation.  Numerous  instances  of 
just  such  fatal  reasoning  from  the  premises  of  this 
wonderful  system,  have  actually  occurred. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year,  brother  Cowl  ex- 
pressed a  desire  that  the  appointing  powers  would 
send  him  to  the  hardest  field  of  labor  in  the  con- 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  123 

ference.  Said  he,  "lam  a  young  man — my  health 
is  good — I  am  able  to  travel  any  circuit,  and  I  want 
the  hardest  they  have."  This  was  the  right  spirit; 
it  was  no  vaunt,  put  forth  for  effect ;  it  was  the 
spirit  of  the  man ;  and  he  was  accommodated — but 
rejoiced  to  labor  and  suffer  in  the  cause  of  his  Master. 
He  humorously  said  there  should  be  an  exception  in 
the  rule  in  my  behalf — that  this  was  my  fourth  year 
on  the  circuit,  and  the  people  said  they  were  just 
becoming  acquainted  with  me.  It  is,  perhaps,  true 
that  it  required  four  years  on  those  large  circuits, 
to  form  as  thorough  acquaintance  as  preachers  and 
people  now  form  with  each  other  in  two  years. 


124  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 


CHAPTER    IX. 

POWNAL    CIRCUIT— TWO    YEARS. 

In  May,  1818,  I  was  appointed  to  the  Pownal 
circuit,  with  brother  J.  Hall  for  my  colleague,  who 
was  a  pretty  fine  young  man.  This  circuit  extended 
into  three  states ;  namely,  Massachusetts,  New  York, 
and  Vermont. 

We  lived  in  Hoosack,  at  which  place  were  several 
worthy  families — the  Millimans,  Barnums,  and  others. 
Thomas  Milliman  had  built  a  house  for  the  use  of  the 
preachers,  with  wood-house,  barn,  etc.,  and  made  a 
practice  yearly  of  putting  a  load  of  hay  in  the  barn, 
and  pasturing  the  preacher's  cow  gratuitously.  It 
is  refreshing  to  record  such  noble  acts  of  generosity. 
Other  friends  were  kind  and  liberal.  Our  situation 
now  was  perhaps  more  agreeable  than  in  any  for- 
mer year.  "We  were  surrounded  with  choice  friends, 
had  a  good  meeting-house,  good  neighborhood,  and 
a  pleasant  section  of  country  in  which  to  travel ; 
hence  we  soon  felt  quite  at  home. 

One  of  our  appointments  was  in  Petersburg,  where 
I  was  reared  and  converted.  My  father  was  still 
living,  and  having  spoken  of  his  opposition  to  Meth- 
odism, it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  speak  farther 
of  him  here.     As  he  continued  to  attend  the  Meth- 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  125 

odist  meetings,  his  prejudices  wore  away,  and  he 
frequently  remained  with  the  members  for  class  meet- 
ing— an  exercise  of  which  he  soon  became  fond  ;  so 
one  day  at  the  close  of  class  meeting,  the  preacher 
in  charge — the  lamented  brother  Arnold — addressed 
the  members  thus :  "  Old  brother  Lewis  seems  to 
like  our  class  meetings  pretty  well,  so  I  think,  breth- 
ren, I  will  put  his  name  on  the  class-book,"  and 
turning  to  him,  said,  "  I  suppose  you  have  no  objec- 
tion, Deacon  Lewis  ?"  The  old  gentleman  smiled 
and  gave  his  consent.  I  now  found  him  a  class- 
leader  on  my  circuit,  in  which  office  he  continued 
fourteen  or  sixteen  years,  and  died — permit  me  to 
say  it — enjoying  the  confidence  -and  esteem  of  a  large 
circle  of  acquaintances,  having  lived  in  peace  with 
his  neighbors  to  the  age  of  seventy-four  or  seventy- 
five  years.  He  became  a  Methodist  not  only  in 
name,  but  in  reality,  embracing  the  doctrines  and 
discipline  of  the  Church  most  cordially.  My  rela- 
tives, and  other  friends  who  had  known  me  from 
childhood,  received  me  kindly,  and,  perhaps  through 
some  curiosity,  flocked  out  to  my  appointments.  Our 
society  in  the  place  was  good.  Among  the  member- 
ship were  four  of  my  brothers,  the  oldest  a  local 
preacher.  He  had  naturally  a  good  mind,  and  was 
disposed  to  combat  error  wherever  he  found  it.  He 
had  an  appointment  in  North  Adams,  met  with  con- 
siderable opposition,  but  continued  to  expose  the 
absurdities  of  particular  election  and  reprobation, 
and  to    preach   Christ   crucified,    till    the    Spirit  of 


126  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

God  descended  upon  the  people;  then  sinners  were 
awakened  and  converted,  and  a  good  society  was 
organized  in  the  place.  Wherever  the  doctrine  of 
free  grace  is  faithfully  preached,  whether  by  men 
of  much  or  little  learning,  the  ungodly  will  be  cut 
to  the  heart  and  tremblingly  inquire,  "  What  must 
we  do  to  be  saved?"  0,  that  God  would  raise  up 
men  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  thrust 
them  out  into  the  field  now  white  to  the  harvest ! 
And  I  pray  God  to  give  me  a  fresh  baptism  of  the 
Spirit,  that,  whether  able  to  labor  or  not,  I  may 
feel  the  worth  of  souls  lying  near  my  heart. 

In  Pownal  we  had  probably  the  oldest  society  on 
the  circuit,  and  in  it  were  some  excellent  members, 
but  they  had  neglected  to  build  a  church,  on  which 
account  we  labored  under  great  disadvantage.  The 
opposition  from  other  denominations  was  strong ; 
yet,  in  the  midst  of  surrounding  difficulties,  we  found 
some  prosperity,  but  nothing  like  what  we  might  have 
expected  in  a  comfortable  house  of  worship. 

We  made  several  appointments  in  Williamstown, 
and,  as  usual,  provoked  the  opposition  of  the  "  stand- 
ing order."  This  was  in  Massachusetts,  where  the 
law  required  every  man  to  pay  a  tax  to  the  Presbyte- 
rians, unless  he  made  affidavit  that  he  attended  divine 
service  and  paid  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel  in 
some  other  denomination.  He  must  procure  a  certifi- 
cate to  that  effect  from  the  preacher,  and  take  it  to 
the  town  clerk  and  have  it  recorded.  This  law  was 
oppressive,  and  in  direct  contravention  of  that  relig- 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  127 

ious  freedom  which  has  always  been  the  boast  of  the 
American  people.  But  oppressive  as  it  was,  it  was 
mild  in  comparison  with  what  it  was  a  few  years 
prior  to  the  time  of  which  I  write.  Then  no  such 
certificate  would  be  of  any  avail.  Every  man  must 
pay  to  support  Presbyterians,  though  he  might  belong 
to  the  Methodist,  or  some  other  evangelical  Church, 
and  in  his  heart  detest  the  absurd  tenets  of  the  "five- 
points."  On  one  of  my  visits  to  this  place,  a  friend 
who,  though  brought  up  a  Baptist,  always  attended 
our  meetings,  invited  me  home  with  him,  when,  in  the 
course  of  friendly  conversation,  some  remarks  were 
dropped  which  bore  against  the  peculiar  notions  pro- 
mulgated  by  the  great,  and,  as   I  trust,  good  John 

Calvin;    whereupon  Mr.   Y said    to   me,   "Mr, 

Lewis,  I  heard  you  preach  good  Calvinism  the  other 
night."  "Well,"  said  I,  "  if  you  will  convince  me  of 
that,  I  will  make  my  confession  when  I  come  round 
again."  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  you  preached  the  doc- 
trine of  depravity  as  strongly  as  any  Calvinist  I  ever 
heard  !"  This  indicates  the  view  others  took  of  our 
theology.  They  labored  to  confound  it  with  the  Socin- 
ian  Unitarianism  that  overran  New  England  prior  to 
the  introduction  of  Methodism.  They  might  have 
known  better,  it  is  true,  but  none  are  so  blind  as  those 
who  will  not  see.  I  informed  him  that  we  always 
preached  depravity,  but  that  we  do  not  leave  the  sin- 
ner in  his  ruined  condition  without  remedy;  that  after 
portraying  his  real  state,  we  offer  him  the  atonement 
and  helps  of  divine  grace  flowing  therefrom,  so  that 


128  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

the  responsibility  of  life  and  death  rests  upon  the  sin- 
ner, and  not  upon  the  Savior ;  and  assured  him  that 
herein  is  where  we  differ  from  Calvinism,  and  not  in 
the  doctrine  of  depravity. 

My  friend  then  introduced  the  subject  of  baptism. 
Said  he,  "  Mr.  Lewis,  if  you  will  give  me  one  precept 
or  example — I  will  only  ask  one — for  baptism  by 
pouring  or  sprinkling  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  I 
will  yield  the  point   and  never  argue  on  the  subject 

again."     Said  I,  "Mr.  F ,  if  you  will  give  me  one 

precept  or  example — I  will  only  ask  one — for  bap- 
tism by  immersion  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  I  will 
yield  the  point  and  never  argue  on  the  subject  again." 
I  took  occasion  to  remark,  further,  that  we  were  on 
an  equality  so  far  as  the  proofs  of  the  mode  of  bap- 
tism, by  positive  precept  or  example,  are  concerned, 
the  facts  in  the  case  being  these :  "  From  certain 
facts  and  circumstances  named  in  the  Scriptures,  the 
Baptists  infer  that  the  ordinance  was  administered  by 
immersion ;  and  from  these  same  facts  and  circum- 
stances, ive  infer  that  it  was  administered  by  pouring 
or  sprinkling."  This  narrowing  down  of  the  issue  to 
its  proper  limits  is  always  unfavorable  to  the  hypoth- 
esis of  exclusive  immersion. 

Mr.  F was   a  sincere  friend,  notwithstanding 

his  peculiar  notions  of  doctrine.  He  had  been  trained 
up  in  them,  and  all  his  religious  feelings  were  asso- 
ciated with  his  early  training.  The  views  instilled 
into  the  mind  in  youth,  are  always  retained  with  won- 
derful tenacity.     Early  prejudices  exert  a  powerful 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  129 

influence  over  the  mind  in  after  life,  often  consti- 
tuting a  formidable  barrier  in  the  way  of  advance- 
ment in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  a  fearful 
obstacle  to  progress  in  the  experience  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  How  important,  then,  that  the  first  religious 
instruction  of  children  be  strictly  evangelical ! 

I  do  not  know  that  I  missed  an  appointment  during 
the  year.  I  had  some  hard  rides — was  often  much 
exhausted  in  body,  had  some  trials  of  mind,  but  was 
always  cheered  with  friendly  sympathy,  and  was  per- 
mitted to  wind  up  my  labor  pleasantly,  thankful  to 
God  who  sustained  me  through  the  eleventh  year  of 
my  itinerant  life.  And  now  the  season  was  come  for 
the  annual  greetings  of  brethren  beloved,  whose 
hearts  beat  in  unison,  and  whose  mutual  attachments 
were  warm,  cordial,  and  lasting.  No  men  know 
better  how  to  give  an  affectionate,  whole-souled  shake 
of  the  hand,  expressive  of  unalloyed  friendship,  than 
itinerant  Methodist  preachers,  returning,  after  a 
year's  toil,  suffering,  and  triumph,  to  mingle  together 
in  the  session  of  conference. 

In  May,  1819,  our  conference  sat  again  in  the  city 
of  New  York.  Going  to  conference  then  was  differ- 
ent from  what  it  is  now.  Those  of  us  who  trav- 
eled north,  rode  from  one  to  three  hundred  miles  on 
horseback,  which  brought  us  within  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  of  Troy;  here  we  left  our  horses  with  kind 
friends,  who  took  care  of  them,  and  conveyed  us  to 
Troy  in  wagons;  then  we  took  stage  to  Albany, 
where  we  clubbed  together  to  secure  a  cheap  passage 


130  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

on  a  sloop.  This  cost  $5,  if  boarded,  and  $2  if  we 
boarded  ourselves.  We  chose  to  supply  ourselves  with 
bread,  butter,  tea,  sugar,  crackers,  etc.,  and  thus  sail 
for  New  York,  boarding  ourselves.  "  But  why  detail 
all  this?"  Simply  to  remind  you,  dear  reader,  that 
our  manner  of  traveling  to  conference  then  was  quite 
different  from  the  commodious  methods  now  enjoyed. 
The  change  is  great,  yea,  glorious,  and  I  thank  God 
for  it. 

I  was  returned  to  Pownal  circuit.  This  suited 
myself  and  family  well.  Brother  N.  Levings  was 
my  colleague.  This  was  perhaps  his  second  year  on 
trial  in  the  traveling  connection.  He  was  a  most 
amiable,  lovely  young  man,  of  strong  mind,  deep 
piety,  studious,  and  industrious.  He  commanded 
respect  wherever  he  went ;  and  my  opinion  is  that 
he  prepared  more  new  subjects  for  the  pulpit  than 
any  man  with  whom  I  have  been  associated  in  the 
work.  He  was  to  be  depended  on  at  home  or 
abroad,  by  night  or  by  day — at  all  times  and  in 
all  places.  In  the  course  of  the  year,  he  became 
deeply  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  a  clean 
heart — entire  sanctification.  For  this  he  sought  with 
all  the  ardor  of  his  soul,  and  was  enabled  to  embrace 
and  realize  the  fullness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ.  After  this,  he  appeared  to  move  heaven 
and  earth  in  his  religious  exercises,  and  I  doubt  not 
that  he  retained  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  love  to 
his  dying  hour.  The  reader  will  recollect  that  he 
died  a  few  years  ago,  in   the   city  of  Cincinnati,  in 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  131 

the  full  prospect  of  heaven,  esteemed  and  regretted 
by  the  whole  Church.  May  we  follow  his  example, 
as  a  disciple  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Savior,  and 
then,  like  him,  die  in  full  triumph  of  faith ! 

We  were  soon  at  our  work,  and  found  my  old 
friends  still  at  their  posts,  contending  for  spiritual, 
heart-purifying  religion.  The  Rev.  D.  Ostrander 
was  our  presiding  elder  this  year.  I  had  formerly 
traveled  under  the  Revs.  S.  Draper  and  W.  Anson. 
The  former  died  near  forty  years  ago,  and  it  is 
probable  the  latter  has  gone  to  his  long  home  before 
this.  Our  first  quarterly  meeting  was  held  in  Adams's 
Nock,  Massachusetts.  This  was  the  first  time  brother 
D.  Ostrander  preached  in  that  region.  He  was  a 
good  man,  a  sound  theologian,  and  reasoned  most 
conclusively — was  rather  slow  in  his  commencement, 
but  wound  up  in  triumph.  He  would,  as  was  once 
said  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Coate,  when  deeply  engaged, 
stroke  back  his  hair  and  preach  so  as  to  fairly  make 
his  hearers  see  heaven,  and  smell  the  odor  of  the 
burning  pit.  Lord  give  us  more  such  men,  whether 
they  come  fresh  from  the  college  or  the  field  !  We 
want  men  of  faith  and  prayer,  with  the  unction  of 
the  Holy  One  resting  upon  them,  whose  preaching, 
like  Paul's,  shall  not  be  with  enticing  words  of  man's 
wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  power, 
that  the  faith  of  the  hearers  may  stand  not  in  the 
wisdom  of  men.  but  in  the  power  of  God. 
'  Hitherto  I  have-  said  but  little  of  my  presiding 
elders.    This  has  been  from  no  lack  of  esteem  for  the 


132  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

office,  or  for  the  men  who  filled  it ;  but  simply  be- 
cause my  limits  would  only  permit  a  passing  remark, 
in  which  the  character  and  zeal  of  those  laborious 
ministers  of  Christ  could  not  be  worthily  exhibited. 
It  would  be  a  far  pleasanter  task  to  delineate  the 
character,  and  detail  the  work  of  my  presiding  elders, 
were  I  in  possession  of  the  necessary  material,  than 
to  write  of  myself;  but  in  sketching  these  recol- 
lections of  my  personal  experience,  I  have  felt  it 
necessary  to  avoid  extended  notices  of  others.  My 
presiding  elders  have  all  been  dear  to  me,  without 
exception,  and  we  have  been  sweetly  united  in  the 
Gospel  yoke ;  and  I  thank  God  that  we  still  have  such 
an  office  in  the  Church.  I  never  desired  any  change 
in  our  Discipline  on  this  subject.  During  the  long 
and  heated  controversy  connected  with  the  Radical 
secession,  not  one  of  the  proposed  "  reforms  " 
seemed  to  my  mind  to  promise  any  improvement. 
My  motto  in  relation  to  this  point  has  been,  "Let 
well  enough  alone  !"  True,  our  circuits  are  cut 
down  very  small,  and  this  could  not  be  avoided. 
The  circumstances  of  the  people  demanded  it — but 
this  is  not  a  sufficient  reason  for  changing  our 
economy.  There  is  as  much  ability  on  these  small 
circuits  now  to  meet  the  expenses,  as  there  was  on 
the  large  circuits  of  forty  years  ago.  My  heart 
rejoices  to  find  our  pastoral  charges  so  compact  as 
they  are  ;  those  little  fields  may  be  cultivated  well ; 
and  every  true-hearted  minister  will  find  enough  to 
do  in  them.     Often,  while  traveling  the  large  circuits 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  133 

of  former  years,  was  my  physical  frame  so  fatigued 
that  it  seemed  I  must  fall  from  my  horse ;  and  I  am 
truly  glad  that  our  young  men  do  not  find  it  neces- 
sary to  ride  twenty-three  miles  before  breakfast  in 
order  to  reach  their  appointments.  The  change  is 
grateful  to  every  feeling  of  my  heart.  But  our 
system  is  a  "wheel  within  awheel."  Like  in  the 
clock,  where  every  wheel  is  necessary  to  keep  the 
correct  time,  all  the  parts  of  our  well-adjusted  itiner- 
ant plan  are  dependent  on  each  other ;  and  to  remove 
the  presiding  eldership  would  leave  the  whole  system 
of  machinery  in  confusion.  Instead  of  modifying 
the  rules  of  the  Church,  so  as  to  rid  the  people  of 
paying  the  presiding  elder,  let  each  pastor  cultivate 
more  thoroughly  the  ground  he  occupies,  especially 
in  the  way  of  pastoral  visiting,  and  there  will  be  no 
difficulty  in  supporting  our  whole  system.  Let  our 
young  men  in  particular  seek  a  new  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  devote  themselves  anew  to  this 
work,  and  they  will  contribute  much  more  to  the 
peace,  harmony,  and  permanent  well-being  of  the 
Church  as  it  is,  than  they  can  possibly  do  by  in- 
troducing innovations  upon  her  time-honored  and 
heaven-sanctioned  usages. 

But  to  return  from  this  digression.  The  quarterly 
meeting  mentioned  was  an  excellent  one — not  that 
many  were  converted,  but  the  Church  was  quickened 
and  strengthened;  and  an  impetus  was  given  to  the 
work  which  proved  of  lasting  benefit  to  the  cause  of 
religion.     New  life  was  imparted  to  the  membership, 


134  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

who  went  out  to  different  parts  of  the  circuit  ani- 
mated with  fresh  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  for 
the  salvation  of  souls. 

I  stopped  on  one  of  my  rounds  to  attend  a  funeral 

service,  and  heard  the  Rev.  Mr.  G preach  from 

Job  xiv,  10 :  "  But  man  dieth,  and  wasteth  away : 
yea,  man  giveth  up  the  ghost,  and  where  is  he?" 
This  was,  in  some  respects,  an  extraordinary  ser- 
mon. The  preacher  said,  "We  are  dying,  and  all 
must  die ;  you  have  the  evidence  before  you  that  man 
dieth.  Now,  you  can  never  be  happy  without  salva- 
tion ;  and  you  can  never  have  salvation,  unless  you 
comply  with  the  terms  of  salvation.  These  terms  are, 
repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  You  ought  to  repent  and  believe  now,  be- 
cause, first,  'man  dieth.'  You  ought  to  repent  and  be- 
lieve noiv7  because,  secondly,  God  commands  it.  You 
ought  to  repent  and  believe  noio,  because,  thirdly, 
you  can  not  do  it  till  God  gives  you  a  new  heart. 
Now,  why  will  you  delay  ?  I  beseech  you  to  repent 
and  believe  now,  for  I  tell  you  that  you  never  can  till 
God  gives  you  a  new  heart.  In  evidence  of  this, 
think  how  many  in  this  place,  last  winter,  when  God 
was  pouring  out  his  Spirit,  tried  to  repent  and  could 
not.  Then  why  will  you  neglect  to  repent?  for  I  tell 
you  that  you  never  can  repent  till  God  gives  you  a 
new  heart!"  For  half  an  hour  he  kept  urging  his 
hearers  to  repent,  and  the  great  reason  assigned  was, 
"You  never  can  till  God  gives  you  a  new  heart." 
After  preaching,  he  passed  round  shaking  hands  with 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  135 

the  friends,  and  when  he  came  to  me,  we  took  each 
other  by  the  hand,  and  after  some  conversation,  I 
whispered  to  him,  "  You  told  us  we  should  repent 
now,  because  we  never  can  till  God  gives  us  a  new 
heart!"  Turning  round,  so  as  to  face  the  congrega- 
tion, he  said  in  an  audible  voice,  "I  presume  my  con- 
gregation understood  me."  I  replied  that  perhaps 
they  did,  and  that  I  thought  I  likewise  understood 
him;  for  I  always  suppose  a  man  to  mean  what  he 
says,  unless  he  makes  a  slip  of  the  tongue,  which  is 
pardonable  in  any  one.  Said  he,  "  I  presume  my  con- 
gregation understand  the  difference  between  natural 
ability  and  moral  ability."  I  answered  that  they 
probably  did,  and  that  I  thought  I  also  did.  Then  I 
proceeded  to  address  him   as   follows:     "  Now,  Mr. 

G ,  you  have  told  us,  to-day,  how  awfully  bad  you 

feel  when  you  hear  people  talk  about  going  to  heaven 
by  their  own  works.  I  wish  to  say  to  you  that  I  abhor 
such  a  sentiment  just  as  much  as  you  do  yourself; 
but  whose  doctrine  is  it  that  sends  men  to  heaven  by 
their  own  works,  yours  or  mine  ?  You  say  men  have 
a  natural  ability — let  them,  then,  exercise  that  natural 
ability,  and  go  to  heaven  without  any  thanks  to  grace ! 
What !  men  possess  natural  ability  to  perform  the 
moral  duties  they  owe  to  God  ?  Every  principle  of 
philosophy  stands  opposed  to  it.  If  that  position  be 
correct,  then  the  exercise  of  natural  ability  will  pro- 
duce a  supernatural  effect,  and  secure  a  supernatural 
result;  then  the  effect  is  superior  to  the  cause,  the 
stream  rises  higher  than  the  fountain !  But  we  .say  our 


136  EECOLLECTIONS     OF 

' ability'  is  not  natural,  but  gracious;  and  the  im- 
provement of  a  gracious  ability  produces  a  gracious 
result;  and  thus  we  expect  heaven  by  grace,  and  not 

by  works."     "Well,"  said  Mr.  G ,  "that's  as  good 

Arminianism  as  I  have  heard  in  a  long  time.  But 
what  is  it  that  constitutes  this  gracious  ability  of 
which  you  speak?"  "The  quickening  grace  of  God, 
sir,  which  affects  every  sinner's  heart.  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world;  the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salva- 
tion hath  appeared  unto  all  men;  and  a  manifestation 
of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal." 

"  Well,  I  do  not  know  but  it  may  be  so,"  said  G , 

"but  none  of  the  authors  I  have  read  view  it  in  that 
light."  "I  do  not  know  what  authors  you  have  read," 
said  I,  "  but  the  Bible  teaches  the  doctrine  I  have 
laid  down." 

Just  then,  an  old  gentleman  stepped  up,  and,  laying 
his  hand  on  my  shoulder,  said,  "Young  man,  you  are 
on  bad  ground,  and  had  better  give  it  up."  Said  I, 
"You  are  a  man  of  years,  and  ought  to  know." 
"Yes,"  said  he,  "I  am  an  old  man,  and  I  tell  you 
that  you  are  on  very  bad  ground."  I  told  him  I  was 
willing  everyone  should  think  for  himself.  "Yes," 
said  he,  "but  do  have  them  think  right."  "That's 
the  very  reason  I  make  my  plea,  that  men  may  think 
right,"  said  I.  The  old  gentleman,  as  if  abandoning 
me  as  a  hopeless  reprobate,  turned  round,  and,  with 
cane  in  hand,  moved  for  the  door.  I  was  urged  to 
stay  and  preach,  but  it  was  too  late  in  the  day. 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  137 

When  I  came  round,  in  four  weeks,  a  sister  to  the 
deceased  brother  was  dead,  and  the  friends  desired 
me  to  preach  the  funeral  sermon.  This  I  did  in  the 
same  house,  and  to  many  of  the  same  hearers  that 
were  present  on  the  former  occasion.  My  text  was 
John  xii,  35 :  "  Yet  a  little  while  is  the  light  with 
you.  Walk  while  ye  have  the  light,  lest  darkness 
come  upon  you." 

The  following  method  was  pursued : 

I.  The  privilege  enjoyed:    "The  light  is  with  you." 

II.  The  duty  enjoined:  "Walk  while  you  have 
the  light." 

III.  The  consequence  of  neglect :  "Darkness  Com- 
eth upon  you." 

Many  in  that  place,  afterward,  professed  to  view 
the  economy  of  grace  differently  from  what  they  had 
done  before.  These  incidental  conversations,  on  doc- 
trinal points,  often  led  to  inquiry,  and  resulted  in 
removing  the  film  of  prejudice  from  many  eyes. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  D now  came  into  this  neighbor- 
hood and  commenced  preaching,  and  manifested  an 
intense  desire  to  enlighten  me  in  regard  to  baptism. 
When  I  filled  my  regular  appointment,  he  was  in  the 
congregation.  After  service  I  was  introduced  to  him, 
and,  in  less  than  three  minutes,  he  introduced  his 
favorite  theme.  I  waived  the  subject  then,  and  in  a 
few  days  he  met  me  on  the  street  and  introduced  it 
again.  At  my  next  round,  he  was  out  to  hear  me, 
and  was  soon  upon  his  old  hobby.     He  requested  me 

to  visit  him  at  his  house — said  he  had  some  passages 

12 


138  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

in  Church  history  he  wished  to  read  to  me.  I  made 
him  a  call,  and  he  was  soon  at  work.  He  read  of  some 
abuses  of  baptism  that  occurred  in  the  Church  at  an 
early  period — that  under  certain  circumstances  lay 
members  were  permitted  to  administer  it  to  infants. 

I  replied,  "  If  the  abuse  of  an  ordinance  destroys 
its  validity,  you  should  reject  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  supper,  for  it  was  grossly  abused  in  the  days 
of  St.  Paul,  when  the  Corinthians  ate  and  drank 
till  they  were  gluttonous  and  drunken.  Now,  why 
not  reject  that  ordinance  because  of  the  abuses  to 
which  it  has  been  subjected?  If  the  abuses  of  infant 
baptism  constitute  a  valid  objection  against  the  ordi- 
nance, the  same  objection  holds  good  against  the  sac- 
rament of  the  Lord's  supper.  Now,  be  consistent." 
Said  he,  "We  have  to  go  to  Church  history  because 
others  do,  but  the  Bible  is  the  only  rule  of  faith ;  now 
give  me  one  passage  from  the  New  Testament  in 
favor  of  the  baptism  of  infants."  "Lydia  and  her 
household  were  baptized,"  I  remarked.  Said  he, 
"  Lydia  was  a  lady  of  Thyatira,  a  seller  of  purple, 
and  her  household  consisted  of  herself  and  some 
young  ladies  she  had  employed  to  assist  her  in 
business,  and  there  were  no  infants  among  them." 
"Well  then,  sir,"  said  I,  "if  these  young  ladies 
could  be  baptized  on  the  faith  of  Lydia,  as  being  in 
her  employ,  certainly  children  may  be  baptized  on  the 
faith  of  their  parents ;  and  we  have  no  evidence  that 
one  of  Lydia's  household  had  faith  except  herself." 

We   had   prayer  together    and   parted ;    but  in  a 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  139 

subsequent  interview,   Mr.  D said   he    did  not 

know  that  there  was  one  Presbyterian,  or  one  Meth- 
odist, or  one  Episcopalian  in  heaven,  but  he  did 
know  that  there  was  one  Baptist  there.  My  reply 
was,  "  Baptist  means  baptizer,  or  one  who  baptizes, 
and  if  there  is  one  who  baptizes  in  heaven,  he  cer- 
tainly must  do  it  right ;  and  I  suggest  that  the  next 
trip  you  make  to  that  country,  you  ask  the  old  Bap- 
tist what  mode  he  employs,  and  then  give  it  to  us 
direct  from  him.  This  will  be  perfectly  satisfactory 
to  me  ;  but  it  may  not  be  to  some  others ;  for  I  once 
heard  a  minister  assert  that  he  would  not  believe 
that  infants  were  proper  subjects  for  baptism,  if  an 
angel  should  come  down  from  heaven  and  declare 
that  they  were." 

This  play  upon  the  word  "  Baptist,"  is  a  favorite 
employment  with  our  immersionist  friends.  Some 
years    ago,    a    grave    divine    approached    a    young 

student    of    divinity — now  the    Rev.   Dr.  C ,  of 

G ,    Ohio — and    said,    "  Remember,    Mr.  C , 

you  never  read  in  the  Scriptures  about  John  the 
Presbyterian,  or  John  the  Methodist,  or  John  the 
Episcopalian,  but  you  do  read  of  John  the  Baptist." 

About  the  same  time,  the    Rev.  Mr.  S came 

along  and  preached  a  sermon  from,  "  Ye  must  be 
born  again."  He  treated  his  subject  evangelically 
for  some  time,  and  then  affirmed  that  "  we  are  under 
obligation  to  do  that  which  we  can  not  do."  Said 
he,  "  I  will  give  you  a  simile :  Suppose  a  father 
directs  his  son  to  take    a  pitcher    and  bring  it  full 


140  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

of  water.  The  son  goes,  but  breaks  the  bottom  out 
of  the  pitcher.  Is  he  not  still  under  obligation  to 
bring  the  water — to  do  that  which  he  can  not  do  ?" 
He  appealed  to  the  prophet  who  said,  "  Ye  have 
hewn  out  to  yourselves  cisterns — broken  cisterns 
that  can  hold  no  water,"  and  claimed  to  have  proved 
triumphantly  that  "  we  are  under  obligation  to  do 
what  we  can  not  do."  After  the  sermon,  a  person  ac- 
costed me,  wishing  to  know  my  opinion  on  that  point. 
I  remarked,  "  If  you  will  allow  it,  I  will  make  use 
of  the  same  illustration :  If  God  said  to  Adam,  take 
the  pitcher  and  get  it  full  of  water,  and  he  broke 
the  bottom  out,  Jesus  Christ  came  and  put  the  bottom 
in  again,  and  now  we  are  required  to  get  water, 
not  in  the  broken  vessel,  but  in  the  mended  pitcher; 
so  that  we  are  not  under  obligation  to  do  what  we 
can  not  do,  notwithstanding  our  total  depravity. 
For,  depraved  as  we  are,  we  have  an  interest  in 
the  redeeming  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  secures 
to  us  the  helps  of  Divine  grace,  and  capacitates  us 
to  do  all  the  Gospel  requires  of  us  in  order  to  sal- 
vation. Hence,  if  we  are  not  saved,  the  fault  is  not 
in  Adam,  not  in  Christ,  not  in  God,  but  in  ourselves 
alone.  God  is  sincere  when  he  says  he  is  not  willing 
that  any  should  perish,  and  that  he  has  no  pleasure 
in  the  death  of  the  wicked." 

"But  why  record  these  familiar  conversations?" 
Simply  because  I  deem  them  calculated  to  give  to 
a  large  class  of  readers  a  clearer  idea  of  the  real 
points  in  dispute  between  Methodists  and  others,  than 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  141 

they  would  obtain  from  the  more  formal  statements 
and  learned  arguments  of  systematic  theological 
writers;  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating 
the  fact  that  we  had  to  contend  for  every  inch  of 
ground  we  obtained.  From  the  dignified  clergyman, 
the  sober  deacon,  the  loquacious  squire,  and  the 
"  learned  "  pedagogue,  we  met  with  vehement  oppo- 
sition. Preachers  of  other  denominations  labored 
assiduously  to  make  the  people  believe  our  doctrines 
were  anti-scriptural  and  pernicious.  Hence,  we  often 
found  it  necessary  to  vindicate  our  positions  from 
the  misconceptions,  misrepresentations,  and  perver- 
sions of  others,  both  in  public  and  in  private.  These 
incidents  show  the  kind  of  arguments  brought  against 
us,  and  to  what  depths  of  absurdity  men  will  plunge, 
and  with  what  unaccountable  tenacity  they  will 
cling  to  an  exploded  subterfuge,  rather  than  yield 
a  favorite   dogma. 

We  held  a  camp  meeting,  this  year,  near  to  our 
own  residence.  We  built  a  tent,  and  the  whole 
family  went  upon  the  ground.  Here  we  labored  and 
pleaded  for  the  conversion  of  our  children,  and  of 
our  neighbors'  children.  We  enjoyed  some  gracious 
influence,  but  not  to  the  extent  we  had  on  other 
occasions.  The  Church  was  much  blessed,  and  some 
souls  were  converted.  We  returned  home,  and  that 
night  had  a  prayer  meeting.  Now  the  power  of  God 
came  down  upon  us  like  the  rushing  of  a  mighty 
wind ;  sinners  were  cut  to  the  heart  and  cried  out, 
"Men   and   brethren,  what  shall  we  do?"      Among 


142  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

the  number  was  my  own  son,  a  boy  of  eleven  years. 
He  bowed  at  the  altar  of  prayer,  and  while  I  was 
pleading  in  his  behalf,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  God  in 
mercy  smiled,  took  his  feet  out  of  the  miry  clay, 
set  them  upon  a  rock,  and  put  a  new  song  into  his 
mouth,  even  praise  to  God  and  the  Lamb !  Once 
more  I  say,  thank  God  for  camp  meetings!*  This 
son — Calvin  Wesley — afterward  became  a  preacher  ; 
and  while  on  the  Jacksonville  circuit,  Illinois  con- 
ference, he  passed  away  from  earth.  Some  eight 
or  ten  ministers,  of  different  denominations,  have 
since  told  me  that  his  was  the  most  triumphant  death 
they  ever  witnessed.     Thy  will,  0  God,  be  done  ! 

"0  may  I  triumph  so, 

"When  all  my  warfare's  past ; 
And,  dying,  find  my  latest  foe 
Under  my  feet  at  last." 

Sometimes,  when  camp  meetings  close  without 
many  conversions  or  accessions  to  the  Church  on 
the  ground,  the  fruit  will  be  seen  after  many  days. 
It  was  so  here.  Many  souls  were  subsequently 
gathered  into  the  fold,  as  the  result  of  this  camp 
meeting  effort,  and  the  Church  was  built  up  and 
made  strong  in  the  Lord.  God's  name  be  praised  ! 
The   remembrance  of  those    days    makes   my   heart 

*  He  subsequently  fell  into  a  lukewarm  or  backslidden  state,  from 
which  he  was  reclaimed  in  a  remarkable  manner.  After  he  commenced 
preaching,  he  usually,  in  relating  his  experience,  began  at  the  period  of 
his  reclamation.  Those  who  have  heard  him  will  hereby  understand  the 
cause  of  any  discrepancy  between  the  above  statement  of  his  conversion, 
and  his  experience  as  related  by  himself. 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  143 

glad.  God  was  with  me  then,  and  he  still  permits 
me  to  feel  that  I  have  a  home  in  heaven.  There 
all  the  ship's  company  shall  meet,  freed  from  the 
imperfections  of  this  mortal  state. 

"No  slightest  touch  of  pain, 

Nor  sorrow's  least  alloy, 
Can  violate  our  rest,  or  stain 

Our  purity  of  joy : 
In  that  eternal  day, 

No  clouds  or  tempests  rise  ; 
There  gushing  tears  are  wiped  away 

Forever  from  our  eyes." 

Time  rolled  on  and  brought  another  year's  labor 
to  a  close.  During  this  second  year,  the  people 
generally,  by  their  hospitality,  kindness,  and  un- 
diosembled  friendship,  endeared  themselves  to  my 
heart  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cause  me  then  to  feel 
that  I  should  never  forget  them;  and  now  I  find 
real  delight  in  thinking  of  them,  and  of  the  many 
happy  seasons  we  enjoyed  together  on  Pownal  cir- 
cuit.    We  may  meet  no  more  on  earth,  but — 

"E'en  now,  by  faith,  we  join  our  hands 
With  those  that  went  before ; 
And  greet  the  blood-besprinkled  bands 
On  the  eternal  shore." 


144  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 


CHAPTER  X. 

CAMBRIDGE    C  IRCUIT— F  I  R  S  T    TEAR. 

From  the  conference  of  1820,  my  appointment  was 
to  Cambridge  circuit,  which  gave  us  a  move  of  only 
about  twelve  miles.  Here  we  found  a  fine  little  house 
built  for  the  accommodation  of  the  preacher's  family, 
but  there  was  no  barn.  I  drew  up  a  subscription 
paper  and  circulated  it,  telling  the  people  I  would 
pay  half  as  much  as  any  one  for  the  purpose  of  build- 
ing a  barn,  and,  with  this  proposition  acting  as  a 
stimulus,  the  necessary  sum  was  procured,  and  the 
barn  and  carriage-house  soon  erected  and  occupied. 

This  was  a  delightful  section  of  country,  and  a 
warm-hearted,  Christian  people.  Many  of  the  mem- 
bers were  from  Ireland,  among  whom  was  father  Ba- 
ker, who  had  heard  Mr.  Wesley  preach.  These  Irish 
brethren  received  me  with  great  cordiality,  while 
those  born  in  America  were  not  behind  them  in  the 
warmth  of  their  friendly  greetings.  In  a  word,  the 
membership  welcomed  me  to  the  circuit  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  me  feel  that,  though  among 
strangers,  I  was  surrounded  with  friends  and  breth- 
ren in  Christ.  The  following  remark  in  reference  to 
this  circuit,  was  made  by  Bishop  Hedding,  and  is 
found  in  Dr.  Clark's  "Life  and  Times"  of  that  excel- 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  145 

lent  man:  "If  we  were  wanting  proof  that  Meth- 
odism is  the  child  of  God,  and  that  it  has  received  the 
fostering  care  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  we 
need  look  no  further  for  a  confirmation  of  these  facts 
than  to  its  rise  and  progress  within  the  bounds  of 
what  was  formerly  Cambridge  circuit.  The  state  of 
the  Church  in  all  this  region  in  1801,  with  its  two 
meeting-houses,  scattered  population,  and  scanty  mem- 
bership, forms  a  striking  contrast  with  the  state  of 
the  Methodist  Church  here  in  1849.  Thriving  villages 
have  sprung  up  in  the  place  of  the  lowly  farm-house ; 
stately  houses  instead  of  lowly  dwellings  where  we 
used  to  congregate  ;  the  '  tens '  of  God's  worshipers 
have  been  multplied  into  'thousands;'  so  that  we 
can  but  exclaim  of  a  truth,  '  The  wilderness  and  soli- 
tary place  has  been  made  glad,  the  desert  has  rejoiced 
and  blossomed  as  the  rose  !'" 

The  Bishop  contrasts  the  state  of  the  Church  in 
1801,  with  what  it  was  in  1849.  My  period  of  labor 
there,  beginning  in  1820,  transpired  between  those 
two  points ;  and  I  presume  the  changes  which  have 
occurred  in  that  region  since  my  day  there,  are  fully 
equal  to  those  which  occurred  between  1801,  and  the 
time  of  my  commencement  on  the  circuit.  It  will  be 
perceived,  therefore,  that  it  was  not  strictly  pioneer 
work  when  I  was  there,  nor  had  Methodism  attained 
any  thing  like  the  maturity,  the  position,  and  influ- 
ence which  it  now  has. 

Father  Baker,  above   alluded  to,  had   been  class- 
leader    for    perhaps    forty   years,    in    Ireland    and 
13 


146  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

America,  and  was  truly  an  "  old-fashioned  Meth- 
odist." He  possessed  a  strong  mind,  was  deeply 
pious,  and  the  society  looked  up  to  him  for  counsel, 
as  to  a  father.  As  a  leader,  he  was  somewhat  strict — 
insisting  that  Methodists  ought  to  live  by  rule,  both 
in  respect  to  worshiping  God  and  sustaining  the 
Church.  Take  a  specimen :  One  day,  at  the  close  of 
class  meeting,  he  said,  "  Now,  brethren,  we  will  at- 
tend  to   our   quarterly   collection.      Brother   N , 

come  forward  and  call  the  list  of  names."     Brother 

N called  over  the  list  of  names,  as  they  stood  on 

the  class-book,  and  the  members  came  forward  as 
their  names  were  called,  and  laid  the  money  on  the 
table,  and  the  amount  each  one  paid  was  credited 
opposite  his  or  her  name.  Some  who  were  not  able 
to  be  present,  knowing  it  to  be  collection-day,  sent  in 
their  contributions  by  others,  that  they  might  not  be 
delinquent.  That  class  was  rightly  trained,  and 
every  thing  went  on  like  clock-work.  There  were 
no  deficiencies  there!  This  old  brother  collected  quar- 
terage on  the  right  plan,  at  the  proper  time,  and  with 
the  least  possible  trouble. 

My  colleague — D.  J.  Wright — and  myself  went 
immediately  to  our  work,  and,  on  the  first  round,  my 
mind  was  assailed  with  the  temptation  that  I  was 
never  called  to  preach — which  temptation  pursued  me, 
day  and  night,  for  six  weeks.  During  this  period,  I 
could  find  no  comfort  except  in  the  act  of  preaching, 
and,  even  then,  the  impression  would  sometimes  be- 
come so  strong  as  to  drive  away  the  train  of  thought 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  147 

I  desired  to  dwell  upon.  The  experience  was  painful, 
but  it  led  me  to  inquire,  carefully,  as  to  the  design  of 
Providence  in  permitting  it,  and  to  review,  minutely, 
my  past  experience. 

Some  twelve  or  fifteen  years  prior  to  this,  I  thought 
I  experienced  the  blessing  of  perfect  love ;  but  now  I 
doubted,  and  the  more  I  examined  the  subject  the 
more  I  doubted,  till  my  mind  became  satisfied  that  I 
did  not  enjoy  that  great  blessing.  With  this  conclu- 
sion came  a  deep  conviction  of  my  need  of  holiness. 
Past  experience  and  present  attainments  were  all  in- 
sufficient. Nothing  was  now  so  desirable  as  the  image 
of  God.  An  earnest  struggle  for  full  redemption,  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  ensued.  This  was,  in  some 
respects,  the  most  interesting  period  of  my  life.  God 
was  leading  me  by  a  way  that  I  knew  not,  and  con- 
ducting my  soul  to  richer  feasts  and  purer  delights 
than  I  could  possibly  have  anticipated.  It  was  like 
the  yielding  of  winter's  dreary  reign,  before  the 
balmy  breath  of  opening  spring.  "  Eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared 
for  them  that  love  him.  But  God  hath  revealed  them 
unto  us  by  his  Spirit ;  for  the  Spirit  searcheth  all 
things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God." 

I  was  under  conviction ;  but  this  was  as  different 
from  my  first  conviction  of  sin  and  need  of  pardon 
as  light  from  darkness.  That  was  accompanied  by 
a  consciousness  of  guilt  and  condemnation — a  dread 
of  divine  wrath  and  fear  of  hell ;  but  this  was  accom- 


148  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

panied  by  the  most  pleasing  train  of  thought  that 
could  enter  the  mind :  it  was  a  simple  discovery  of 
holiness  as  an  experience  desirable  in  itself.  It 
was  a  clear  apprehension  of  the  blessedness  arising 
from  an  all-pervading  faith  and  zeal  for  the  glory 
of  God,  delivering  my  soul  from  backwardness  of 
duty ;  the  discovery  of  the  nearer  approach  to  God 
as  a  privilege  secured  permanently  through  the  blood 
of  the  everlasting  covenant.  My  mind  was  impressed 
that  the  more  I  was  made  like  God,  the  more  pleas- 
ing I  should  be  to  him,  the  more  useful  in  the  Church 
and  in  the  world,  as  well  as  the  more  happy  in  my 
own  soul. 

About  this  time,  a  pamphlet  on  sanctification  fell 
into  my  hands,  which  assisted  me  not  a  little.  In 
perusing  it,  I  was  instructed  and  encouraged  to  seek, 
expecting  to  find  this  high  and  holy  experience.  On 
Tuesdays  and  Fridays  I  fasted  till  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  bending  all  the  energy  of  my  soul  to 
the  work  of  seeking  a  clean  heart,  often  quoting  the 
poet — 

"  With  me,  I  know,  I  feel,  thou  art ; 

But  this  can  not  suffice, 
Unless  thou  plantest  in  my  heart 

A  constant  paradise. 
My  earth  thou  wat'rest  from  on  high, 

But  make  it  all  a  pool  : 
Spring  up,  0  Well,  I  ever  cry: 

Spring  up  within  my  soul." 

"My  earth  thou  wat'rest!"  I  felt  it  so;  but  this 
did   not  meet    the  urgent  want   of  my  soul.     Small 


A      SUPERANNUATE.  149 

rivulets  in  the  desert  refresh  the  weary  traveler,  and 
fertilize  the  little  margin  along  their  courses,  but 
do  not  render  the  whole  land  fruitful,  causing  it  to 
rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  Thus  my  heart 
was  kept  alive,  but  not  filled  to  overflowing  with  the 
living  water,  and  my  cry  was,  "  0  make  it  all  a 
pool !"  I  wished  to  plunge  beneath  the  purple  flood, 
and  be  made  every  whit  whole.  My  enjoyments 
were  increasing;  I  was  approaching  nearer  and  still 
nearer  the  Divine  likeness,  but  felt  that  the  end  of 
Christ's  death  for  me  was  not  yet  attained;  I  was 
not  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God.  My  most 
absorbing  desire  was  to  die  unto  sin,  and  live  unto 
righteousness.  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  cooling 
water-brook,  so  panted  my  soul  after  the  living  God. 
But  in  vain  would  I  attempt  to  describe  the  longing 
of  my  soul  for  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ  Jesus  my 
Lord.  Fully  did  I  realize  the  sentiment  of  the 
poet — 

"  O'erwhclmcd  with  thy  stupendous  grace, 

I  shall  not  in  thy  presence  move; 
But  breathe  unutterable  praise, 

And  rapt'rous  awe,  and  silent  love. 
Then  every  murm'ring  thought,  and  vain, 

Expires,  in  sweet  confusion  lost : 
I  can  not  of  my  cross  complain — 

I  can  not  of  my  goodness  boast. 
Pardon'd  for  all  that  I  have  done, 

My  mouth  as  in  the  dust  I  hide  ; 
And  glory  give  to  God  alone — 

My  God  in  Jesus  pacified." 

In  the  strength  of  grace,  I  purposed  to  be  satisfied 
with  nothing  short  of   entire   consecration    to    God. 


150  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

At  home  or  abroad,  in  the  sanctuary  or  by  the  way- 
side, in  public  or  private,  the  aspirations  of  my  heart 
went  up  to  heaven,  often  embodied  in  lines  like 
these : 

"Suffer'd  no  more  to  rove 
O'er  all  the  earth  abroad, 
Arrest  the  pris'ner  of  thy  love, 
And  shut  me  up  in  God." 

Then  would  follow  ejaculations  such  as  the  follow- 
ing :  "  Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  desire  to  be  shut 
up  in  thee  !"  "I  would  be  thine — wholly  thine,  lost 
and  swallowed  up  in  thee !"  "0  Lord,  arrest  my 
wandering  heart ;  settle  and  fix  my  wavering  soul ; 
make  me  daily  the  prisoner  of  thy  love  !"  While 
drawn  out  in  solemn,  ardent  prayer,  I  was  favored 
with  such  power  with  God  as  I  had  never  before 
experienced. 

For  about  four  weeks,  I  continued  seeking  the 
priceless  pearl — redemption  from  all  sin — when  I 
went  to  Fort  Edward,  and  preached  with  much  free- 
dom and  spiritual  comfort.  Every  breath  was  fraught 
with  prayer  to  God  for  the  fullness  of  his  love,  with- 
out which  my  anxious  soul  could  not  rest.  After 
preaching,  in  company  with  others,  I  went  home  with 
a  friend,  and,  though  the  brethren  conversed  freely, 
I  said  but  little ;  my  mind  was  too  deeply  engaged  in 
communion  with  my  heavenly  Father.  We  had  family 
worship,  the  friends  left,  the  family  retired,  leaving 
me  alone  to  meditate  and  pray.  I  slept  but  little, 
that  night — not  that  I  had  pain  or  guilt  of  mind — but, 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  151 

0,  the  burning  desire,  to  be  made  holy  in  heart  and 
life  !  Morning  came — I  rose  from  my  bed — fell  upon 
my  knees  and  found  my  Savior  near — more  gloriously 
near  than  ever  before  ;  yet  the  blessing,  so  ardently 
desired,  was  not  realized.  Breakfast  being  over,  I 
started  for  Sandy  Hill  ;  there  I  called  at  brother 
Clark's — went  into  a  bedroom  for  secret  devotion — 
fell  upon  my  knees  at  the  bedside,  and  poured  forth 
my  soul  in  prayer  for  a  clean  heart.  I  wrestled  with 
God,  Jacob-like — I  say  it  with  humility — and,  while 
engaged  in  prayer,  Satan  tempted  me,  as  he  had 
often  done  before,  with  such  thoughts  as  these : 
"Now  you  may  as  well  give  it  up — there  is  no  such 
blessing  attainable — all  that  have  professed  it  have 
been  deceived — if  there  were  any  such  blessing  for 
you,  it  would  certainly  have  been  bestowed  before  this 
time — here  you  have  been  fasting  and  praying  earn- 
estly for  it  these  four  long  weeks,  and,  certainly,  it 
can  not  be  that  so  high  a  state  in  grace  is  attainable." 
But,  then,  the  thought  occurred  to  me,  "  This  is 
surely  a  temptation  ;"  so  I  resisted  the  subtile  reason- 
ing of  the  adversary — giving  it  not  a  moment's  lodg- 
ment in  my  mind,  and  continued  the  struggle  for  full 
salvation.  Faith  prevailed !  Suddenly  the  Holy 
Ghost  descended,  filling  my  soul  with  heavenly  rap- 
ture. 0,  the  light,  the  peace,  the  melting  joy  which 
overpowered  my  heart  !  I  felt  the  saving  power  of 
the  all-cleansing  blood,  and  my  whole  frame  was 
affected  to  trembling.  Had  I  an  angel's  tongue,  I 
could  not  be  able  to  describe  the   blissful  emotions 


152  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

that  thrilled  all  my  powers.  Truly  the  words  of  my 
Savior  were  fulfilled,  "If  a  man  love  me,  he  will 
keep  my  words :  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we 
will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him." 
On  leaving  that  room,  I  learned,  to  my  astonishment, 
that  half  an  hour  had  passed  away.  I  could  not  have 
thought  it  over  five  or  six  minutes.  In  the  fervor  of 
my  pleadings  with  God,  and  in  the  rich  communings 
of  my  spirit  with  heaven,  all  consciousness  of  passing 
time  was  obliterated  from  my  mind. 

Yes,  I  proclaim  it  with  humility — my  heart  was 
made  clean.  This  is  no  fiction.  "  God  is  love  :  and 
he  that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in 
him.  Herein  is  our  love  made  perfect,  that  we  may 
have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment:  because  as  he 
is,  so  are  we  in  this  world.  There  is  no  fear  in  love; 
but  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear :  because  fear  hath 
torment.  He  that  feareth,  is  not  made  perfect  in  love. 
We  love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us."  I  was  now 
better  than  ever  prepared  to  do  and  suffer  the  will 
of  God,  for  I  knew  something  of  what  it  was  to  be 
"filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God  ;"  and  I  now  say 
it  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace,  that,  for 
years,  without  interruption,  I  could  sing — 

"All  praise  to  the  Lamb  !  accepted  I  am, 
Through  faith  in  the  Savior's  adorable  name : 
In  him  I  confide,  his  blood  is  applied  ; 
For  me  he  hath  sufler'd,  for  me  he  hath  died. 
Not  a  doubt  doth  arise,  to  darken  the  skies, 
Or  hide,  for  a  moment,  my  Lord  from  mine  eyes: 
In  him  I  am  blest ;  I  lean  on  his  breast, 
And,  lo  !  in  his  wounds  I  continue  to  rest.': 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  153 

.Now,  dear  reader,  think  of  this  high  privilege. 
Remember  that  an  inspired  apostle  prayed  for  it 
in  behalf  of  the  whole  Church — yea,  that  Christ 
himself  prayed  for  it  in  behalf  of  all  true  believers 
of  every  age.  Believe  that  thou  art  "  not  called 
unto  uncleanness,  but  unto  holiness;"  seek  for  it 
daily,  purpose  never  to  rest  till  thou  art  "  saved 
indeed."  Fill  that  glass  with  pure  water,  and  it 
will  contain  nothing  else  without  displacing  some 
of  the  element  which  first  filled  it ;  so  when  the 
heart  is  full  of  God,  full  of  love  and  holiness,  sin 
can  not  enter  without  excluding  so  much  of  the 
Divine  presence :  "  For  what  fellowship  hath  right- 
eousness with  unrighteousness  ?  and  what  commu- 
nion hath  light  with  darkness  ?  and  what  concord 
hath  Christ  with  Belial?"  But,  having  God  filling 
the  soul,  thou  mayest  "walk  by  faith,"  "seeing 
him  who  is  invisible,"  and  keep  thyself  "  unspotted 
from  the  world."  What  else  is  meant  by  "walking 
in  the  light  as  he  is  in  the  light,"  by  having 
"  fellowship  with  his  Father  and  with  his  Son," 
and  by  having  tl  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  to  cleanse 
from  all  sin" — "from  all  unrighteousness?"  Here 
I  lift  my  heart  and  say,  "  I  thank  thee,  0  Father, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  thou  hast  hid  these 
things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  re- 
vealed them  unto  babes.  Even  so,  Father,  for  so 
it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight."  In  order  to  receive 
these  richer  manifestations  of  the  Father's  love, 
we  must  become  like  little  children — simple-hearted, 


154  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

confiding,  wishing  to  be  taught ;  for  if  we  esteem 
ourselves  "  wise  and  prudent,"  these  things  will 
remain  "  hid  from  our  eyes."  "  And  if  our  Gospel 
be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost;  in  whom 
the  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the  minds  of 
them  which  believe  not,  lest  the  light  of  the  glo- 
rious Gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God, 
should  shine  unto  them."  But  if  we  bow  submis- 
sively at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  with  strong  faith 
appropriate  the  death  and  passion  of  the  Son  of 
God  to  our  own  hearts,  grasping  the  atonement  as 
the  soul's  only  refuge,  then  Christ  is  made  unto 
us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification, 
and  redemption.  Once  more  I  say,  dear  reader, 
seek  this  high  privilege ;  make  it  thy  one  desire, 
aim  and  work  to  seek  and  find  the  "  fullness  of  the 
blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ."  Live — struggle — 
agonize  for  it  as  for  thy  life !  Then  shalt  thou 
not  be  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  but  thou  shalt  "  bring  forth  those  fruits 
which  show  that  thy  roots  are  in  the  clefts  of  the 
rock,  that  thy  leaves  are  refreshed  by  the  dews 
of  heaven,  and  that  thou  dost  bask  in  the  sheen 
of  an  unsetting  and  a  blessed  sunshine  !" 

Shortly  following  this  happy  experience,  I  was 
called  to  pass  through  a  sore  affliction.  While  at  a 
distant  part  of  the  circuit,  in  company  with  a  good 
brother,  making  pastoral  visits,  a  man  from  the 
neighborhood  in  which  my  family  resided,  was  seen 
approaching,  and,  on  seeing  him,  a  vivid  impression 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  155 

seized  my  mind  that  something  serious  had  occurred, 
demanding  my  presence  at  home.  I  expressed  my 
apprehensions  to  the  brother  in  company,  remark- 
ing that,  during  my  eleven  years'  itinerant  life,  my 
family  had  often  been   sick   in  my  absence,  but  had 

never  before  sent  for  me.     The  man,  brother  F , 

came  up    and    told  me  that  my  daughter  was  very 
sick,  and  it  was   thought  best  that  he  should  come 
for  me.     It  was  now  late  in  the  evening ;  we  took 
some    refreshment,   and    started    in    the    night ;    the 
burden  of  my  prayer  being  that  myself  and  family 
might  profit  by  the  affliction,   however   it  might  ter- 
minate.     Thus    we    passed    the    lonely    hours    and 
tedious  miles,  till  about  the  rising  of  the  sun,  when 
we   came    in    sight  of  the  house  and    discovered  the 
beds    lying    out,    by  which    we   knew  that   my  dear 
child  was   gone  to    her   long  home.     Upon  entering 
the  house,   I  found  it  even  so ;  her  lifeless  remains 
were   lying  before  me,   cold,   still,   fast   in   the    em- 
brace of  death !      My  wife,   overcome  with   anguish, 
was  lying  on  the  bed;    I  took  her  hand,  pressed  it, 
wept,    but  could    not   speak.     Passing    into    another 
room,    I   sought  relief  in    prayer.       On    the   wings 
of  faith  my    soul   went    up    to    God,    pleading   that 
the  mysterious  dispensation    might  be   overruled  to 
his  glory  and    our  good;    and  I  heard  the  respon- 
sive  whisperings    of   his    Spirit,    "  Thy  prayers   are 
come  up  before  God — thou  shalt  be  delivered."     My 
heart  was  full — "  unutterably  full   of  glory  and   of 
God."     Arising   from    my  knees,   I   could   but   ex- 


156  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

claim,  "  Lord,  it  is  enough !"  While  gazing  on 
the  loved  form  of  our  child,  still  beautiful  in  death, 
■whose  silvery  tones  and  cheerful  smile  so  often 
sent  sunshine  into  our  hearts,  we  could  say  as  we 
never  before  had  said — 

"  Give  joy  or  grief,  give  ease  or  pain, 
Take  life   or  friends   away ; 
But   let   me  find   them  all   again 
In   that   eternal   day." 

On  Saturday  morning,  this  daughter  was  in  good 
health;  in  the  evening  she  was  attacked  with  dis- 
ease ;  and  on  Sunday  night,  she  sweetly  sunk  into 
the  arms  of  Jesus,  and  passed  away  to  join  the 
swelling   throng   in    the    paradise    of  God. 

"The  morning  flowers  display  their  sweets, 

And  gay  their  silken  leaves  unfold, 
As   careless  of  the   noontide   heats, 

As  fearless   of  the   evening   cold. 
Nipp'd   by   the   wind's   untimely   blast, 

Parch 'd   by  the   sun's   director   ray, 
The   momentary  glories   waste, 

The   short-lived   beauties   die   away." 

This  stroke  of  affliction  fell  heavily  upon  me. 
It  then  seemed  to  me  that  I  should  not  have  felt 
a  deeper  sense  of  bereavement,  if  every  relative — 
save  my  companion — had  been  taken  away :  yet  I 
was  enabled  to  bow  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  and 
say  from  the  heart,  "  Not  my  will,  but  thine,  0 
God,  be  done."  But  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead  never  appeared  so  precious  to  my 
soul  as   then.      Without  the  blessed  assurance  that 


A     SUPERANNUATE*  157 

even  "  this  vile  body  shall  be  changed  and  fashioned 
like  unto  the  glorious  body  of  Christ,"  and  live 
again  in  perpetual  youth,  the  Christian  system  would 
be  radically  defective,  in  that  it  would  fail  to  meet 
an  irrepressible  desire  of  the  human  mind.  But, 
bless  God !  our  redemption  is  perfect.  "  He  that 
raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead,  shall  also  quicken 
our  mortal  bodies,  by  his  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  us." 

"  Those   bodies   that  corrupted   fell 
Shall   incorrupt  arise, 
And   mortal   forms   shall   spring  to   life 
Immortal   in   the   skies." 

The  providence  was  dark,  but  heaven  was  kind ; 
and,  in  reflecting  on  these  words  of  our  Savior, 
"What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt 
know  hereafter,"  I  felt  that  all  was  sanctified  to 
our  good. 

But  to  return  to  the  work  of  God  on  the  circuit. 
I  filled  my  appointments  in  regular  order,  enjoyed 
the  Divine  presence,  and  saw  the  powers  of  darkness 
tremble ;  for  the  word  of  truth,  though  not  clothed  in 
the  tinseled  garb  of  human  rhetoric,  nor  spoken  in 
enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  was  nevertheless 
owned  of  God,  and  made  mighty  through  him  to  the 
pulling  down  of  strongholds.  And  yet  we  did  not 
have  a  large  ingathering  of  souls.  The  revival  was 
more  within  than  without.  Holiness  of  heart  and 
life  became  a  favorite  theme  for  pulpit  ministration, 
and  there  followed  a  general  waking  up  on  the  sub- 
ject among  the  membership.     Many  sought  the  fuller 


158  KECOLLECTIONS     OF 

baptism,  and  felt  "the  blood  that  cleanseth  from  all 
sin,"  applied  by  faith.  My  own  soul  was  richly 
watered,  day  by  day.  Praise  the  Lord !  I  was  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  communion  with  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  triune  God  was  enthroned 
in  my  heart,  "bringing  every  thought  into  captivity 
to  the  obedience  of  Christ."  "Where  sin  abounded, 
grace  did  much  more  abound."  Once,  sin  had  com- 
plete dominion  in  my  soul ;  now,  I  felt,  by  sweet  expe- 
rience, that  the  tyrant  was  expelled  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  that  all  my  quickened  powers  were  under 
the  reign  of  grace.  0,  the  depth  of  redeeming  love ! 
All  I  had  was  upon  the  altar  of  consecration ;  Christ 
was  all  and  in  all  to  me.  Truly  I  could  say,  "Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  but  thee?  and  there  is  none  upon 
earth  that  I  desire  besides  thee!"  I  had  often  urged 
holiness  upon  my  hearers  as  a  Bible  doctrine,  but 
never  till  now  could  I  pour  it  forth  from  the  fountain 
of  a  full  heart. 

But  there  were  enemies  to  this  doctrine  then,  as 
now.  A  friend  remarked,  one  day,  after  meeting, 
"Brother  Lewis  professes  more  than  St.  Paul  did." 
This  remark  was  based  on  Philippians  iii,  12:  "Not  as 
though  I  had  already  attained,  either  were  already  per- 
fect :  but  I  follow  after,  if  that  I  may  apprehend  that 
for  which  I  am  also  apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus." 
From  this  it  is  inferred  that  the  apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles repudiated  the  doctrine  of  evangelical  holiness, 
or  perfect  love.  But  how  terribly  confused  must  be 
the  mind  that  reasons  thus  !     St.  Paul  was  speaking 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  159 

of  that  perfection  which  belongs  to  the  resurrection 
of  the  just.  Unto  that  perfection  he  had  not  yet 
attained,  of  course;  but  he  immediately  acknowl- 
edged himself  and  others  perfect  in  another  sense,  in 
these  words:  "Let  us,  therefore,  as  many  as  be  per- 
fect, be  thus  minded."  Christian  perfection,  attain- 
able in  this  life,  is  one  thing ;  the  perfection  of  "  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  in  the  intermediate 
state,  is  another  thing;  and  the  perfection  of  glory, 
or  that  which  belongs  to  the  soul  and  body  in  the 
resurrection,  is  still  another.  But  all  these  must  be 
confounded  in  order  to  pour  contempt  upon  a  most 
precious  truth,  or  heap  odium  on  such  as  profess  to 
"follow  peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without 
which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord."  The  first,  or 
Christian  perfection,  which  Paul  professed,  and  which 
numerous  living  saints  enjoy,  does  not  imply  deliver- 
ance from  the  effects  of  sin,  so  as  to  restore  the  soul 
to  freedom  from  error,  and  the  body  to  exemption 
from  death — but  only  that  the  reign  of  sin  be  de- 
stroyed, and  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  brought  forth  to 
maturity.  The  second,  or  that  which  invests  the  soul 
upon  its  deliverance  from  the  earthly  tabernacle,  does 
not  include  all  the  hights  and  depths  of  glory  that 
pertain  to  the  final  state,  but  it  implies  freedom  from 
the  pains,  foibles,  and  imperfections  of  body  and  mind, 
which  are  inseparable  from  this  mortal  state.  These 
shall  be  thrown  off — no  more  to  mar  the  felicity,  or 
interrupt  the  joy  of  the  Spirit,  in  its  communings 
with   the    fountain   of   life   and  purity.      The    third, 


160  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

the  perfection  of  glory,  attained  when  the  dead  are 
raised  incorruptible — the  consummation  of  all  our 
hopes,  was  the  object  of  the  apostle's  earnest  aspira- 
tion, when  he  "counted  all  things  but  loss,"  sacrificed 
honor,  ease,  and  pleasure,  "  if  by  any  means  he  might 
attain  unto  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  In  this 
sense,  he  was  "not  yet  perfect;"  but,  like  a  perfect 
Christian,  he  "pressed  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize 
of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 

We  plead  not  for  positive  perfection  in  this  life, 
but  for  relative ;  not  for  absolutely  sinless  perfection, 
but  for  a  perfection  of  "faith  that  works  by  love,  and 
purifies  the  heart;"  not  for  infallibility  of  judgment  or 
action,  but  that  the  "blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth 
from  all  sin."  We  do  not  expect,  in  this  life,  to  love 
God  with  all  the  strength  of  unfallen  Adam,  nor  with 
the  fervor  of  sinless  angels,  nor  yet  with  the  inten- 
sity of  translated  Enoch  or  Elijah,  nor  even  with 
the  holy  ardor  of  disembodied  saints — but  with  all 
the  powers  of  redeemed,  sanctified  sinners;  "with  all 
the  heart,  soul,  mind,  and  strength"  of  fallen  spirits 
quickened  by  the  Holy  Ghost ! 

"But  many  have  professed  this  perfection,  whose 
lives  witnessed  that  they  did  not  enjoy  it."  Well, 
what  of  that?  Are  Ave  to  deny  the  doctrine  on  this 
account?  Do  not  many  profess  justification,  whose 
lives  declare  plainly  that  they  are  either  deceived  or 
grossly  hypocritical?  Shall  we  abandon  our  faith  in 
that  doctrine,  because  some  will  dishonor  their  pro- 
fession?    Never!     A  man  in  England  once  said  he 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  161 

did  not  believe  there  were  fifty  pounds  in  the  king- 
dom. Upon  being  interrogated  for  the  reason  of  his 
strange  assertion,  he  replied  that  he  had  not  one-half 
that  amount  himself!  Thus,  some  men,  who  never 
experienced  any  thing  of  the  sort  themselves,  blindly 
set  up  their  own  attainments  as  the  standard  of  Chris- 
tian privilege.  But  if  we  come  to  the  word  of  God 
for  light,  we  shall  find  inspired  men  praying  for  it, 
the  provisions  of  the  Gospel  ample  to  warrant  the 
expectation  of  it,  the  commands  of  God  expressly 
enjoining  it,  and  the  promises  teeming  with  encour- 
agement to  seek  it.  And  now,  dear  reader,  "for  this 
cause  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven 
and  earth  is  named,  that  he  would  grant  you,  accord- 
ing to  the  riches  of  his  glory,  to  be  strengthened  with 
might  by  his  Spirit  in  the  inner  man;  that  Christ 
may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith;  that  ye,  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  compre- 
hend with  all  saints  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length, 
and  depth,  and  hight;  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ 
which  passeth  knowledge,  that  ye  might  be  filled 
with  all  the  fullness  of  God!" 

Time  sped  away.  Another  year  was  numbered 
with  the  past,  and  I  was  again  ready  to  leave  the 
field  of  battle  for  the  purpose  of  mingling  with  my 
brethren  in  the  labors  and  privileges  of  the  annual 
conference.  I  had  passed  through  some  of  the 
severest  mental  conflicts  of  my  life,  but,  through  the 

rich  mercy  of  God,  the  close  of  that  year  was  hap- 

14 


162  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

pier  than  all  the  past.  God  was  the  strength  and 
refuge  of  my  soul.  My  labors  being  closed,  I  bowed 
upon  my  knees  and  poured  out  my  soul  to  God  in 
gratitude  and  praise  —  committed  my  flock  to  the 
protection  of  heaven,  prayed  that  God  would  direct 
in  the  appointment  of  preachers  to  this  field,  and 
that  the  year  to  come  might  be  more  abundantly 
prosperous  than  the  year  past.  And  now  to  the 
praise  of  my  Redeemer,  I  will  again  record  the  fact 
that  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1820,  on  Cambridge 
circuit,  my  soul  was  made  perfect  in  love.  "  My 
mouth  shall  speak  the  praise  of  the  Lord ;  and  let 
all  flesh  bless  his  holy  name  forever  and  ever." 
Amen. 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  163 


CHAPTER   XI. 

CAMBRIDGE    CIRCUIT— SECOND    YEAR. 

From  the  conference  of  May,  1821,  I  was  returned 
to  Cambridge  circuit,  and  was  shortly  in  the  midst 
of  my  old  friends,  the  press  of  whose  hands  bade 
me  welcome  to  the  field  of  toil  and  triumph.  My 
sincere  prayer  to  God  was,  that  I  might  be  more 
useful  than  the  previous  year.  The  conference  sent 
me  no  colleague,  but  there  was  a  young  man  em- 
ployed, who,  though  inexperienced,  preached  well 
for  his  years,  was  a  good  man,  and  well  received. 
But  the  principal  part  of  the  labor  devolved  on  me. 
When  our  doctrines  and  usages  were  assailed,  I  must 
be  found  in  the  front  of  the  battle,  warding  off  the 
missiles  of  error,  by  wielding  the  sword  of  the  Spirit. 

At  their  ordination,  Methodist  preachers  promise 
to  be  diligent  in  banishing  "  all  strange  and  false 
doctrines,"  and  never  did  I  suppose  that  in  "con- 
tending for  the  faith  which  was  once  delivered  unto 
the  saints,"  the  minister  of  the  cross  necessarily 
departs  from  his  appropriate  business  of  preaching 
"  Christ  crucified."  I  could  have  no  sympathy  with 
that  sickly,  fawning  spirit  that  smiles  upon  error  as 
an  innocent  foible,  permitting  it  to  pass  unrebuked, 
under  pretense  of  avoiding  contention  and  promoting 


164  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

peace  in  the  Church.  The  motive  may  be  laudable, 
but  the  means  are  to  be  detested.  Our  fathers,  the 
pioneers  of  Methodism,  never  sought  the  good-will 
of  the  world,  or  to  conciliate  the  favor  of  the  "  stand- 
ing order,"  by  conniving  at  heresy;  nor  did  they 
think  themselves  "  contentious "  when  laying  bare 
the  stupendous  errors  which  they  found  labeled  with 
Scripture  names,  and  incorporated  into  creeds  and 
confessions,  in  lieu  of  the  sublime  doctrines  of  Gos- 
pel truth.  Had  they  refused  to  stand  up  in  defense 
of  the  doctrines  they  avowed,  or  cowered  before  the 
haughty  bearing  of  their  "  learned  "  opponents,  defeat 
and  not  success  would  have  marked  their  career, 
and  the  glorious  triumphs  of  Methodism  would  never 
have  been  written.  The  mountains  of  bigotry,  pre- 
judice, and  ignorance,  cleaved  asunder  by  these 
dauntless  heralds  of  salvation,  would  never  have 
fallen  before  the  "modest"  labors  of  pedantic  time- 
servers.  Their  brilliant  achievements  stand  out  in 
bold  relief,  proving  that  they  were  no  truckling 
cravens,  seeking  to  establish  dogmas  wThich  they 
were  unwilling  to  submit  to  the  crucible  of  enlight- 
ened controversy.  But  notwithstanding  the  boldness 
and  fidelity  of  the  fathers,  and  their  great  success 
in  refuting  error,  and  in  expounding  the  doctrines 
of  the  Bible,  so  inveterate  was  the  prejudice  of  other 
denominations,  that  they  had  not  yet  learned,  or 
would  not  acknowledge  the  true  character  of  our 
theology.  Even  so  late  as  1821,  any  number  of  false 
notions   prevailed  in  reference  to   our  doctrines   and 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  165 

usages.  In  the  bounds  of  Cambridge  circuit,  were 
Burgers  and  Anti-Burgers,  Congregationalists,  Pres- 
byterians and  Baptists — all  affirming  that  Methodism 
was  "Arminian  stuff."  Scarcely  ever  looking  into 
our  standard  books,  they  contented  themselves  with 
setting  up  and  beating  down,  "a  man  of  straw."  Had 
I  refused  to  labor  in  public  and  private  to  counteract 
these  errors,  and  to  make  known,  "  with  all  plain- 
ness of  speech,"  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the 
Church,  I  should  have  proved  recreant  to  the  trust 
committed  to  my  charge.  But  believing  that  Meth- 
odism was  a  revival  of  primitive,  Scriptural  Chris- 
tianity, I  ceased  not  to  insist  that  the  distinctive 
features  thereof  were  fully  sustained  by  the  Bible — 
"  The  only  rule,  and  the  sufficient  rule,  both  of  our 
faith  and  practice." 

These  efforts  were  not  altogether  unavailing. 
Some  were  induced  to  "search  the  Scriptures,"  like 
the  Bereans  of  old,  "  to  see  whether  these  things 
were  so."  And  God  was  pleased  to  raise  up  for  us 
champions  for  the  truth,  able  to  vindicate  their  faith, 
and  to  defend  the  usages  of  the  Church  against  her 
most  wily  adversaries.  An  old  gentleman  of  the 
name  of  King,  who  was  raised  among  the  Burgers, 
the  most  rigid  Calvinists  in  the  country,  borrowed 
some  Methodist  books,  and,  after  reading  for  a  short 
time,  found  his  prejudices  giving  way.  He  became 
anxious  to  hear  for  himself,  came  out  to  preaching, 
and  listened  with  intense  interest ;  the  word  fastened 
upon  his  heart,  and  he  went  home  determined  to  see 


166  RECOLLECTIONS      OF 

whether  the  Bible  did  warrant  the  new  doctrine. 
Searching  the  Scriptures  carefully,  with  his  mind,  in 
a  good  measure,  freed  from  the  fetters  of  prejudice, 
he  was  not  long  in  discovering  that  his  old  creed  was 
no  part  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Possessing  the 
spirit  which  prompts  men  to  act  upon  their  own  con- 
victions, he  at  once  embraced  the  truth,  "  in  the  love 
of  it,"  and  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Of  course,  a  storm  of  persecution  followed; 
his  own  family  and  friends  denounced  his  course, 
pouring  out  torrents  of  indignation — but  his  position 
was  chosen  deliberately,  and  he  stood  firm.  The 
whole  community  seemed  arrayed  against  him ;  the 
labors  of  the  minister  were  brought  into  requisition, 
and  all  possible  efforts  made  to  bring  him  back  to 
the.  "faith  of  the  fathers" — but  every  thing  proved 
unavailing.  He  read  Fletcher's  Checks,  and  other 
works,  storing  his  mind  with  arguments,  and  proved 
more  than  equal  to  the  best  of  his  opposers. 

On  public  occasions — days  of  town  meetings,  etc. — ■ 
the  minister  would  attack  brother  King  in  company — > 
perhaps  with  a  view  of  convincing  others  that  Meth- 
odism was  false — at  all  events,  he  seemed  to  take 
pleasure  in  disputing  with  him  when  others  would 
listen.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  some  remarks 
were  made  on  a  disputed  point,  when  brother  K. 
asked,  "  Is  it  reasonable  ?"  Thereupon,  the  minis- 
ter exclaimed,  "What  has  reason  to  do  with  faith!" 
Brother  K.  replied,  "God  made  promise  to  Abra- 
ham, that  he  should  have  a  son  in  his  old  age — that 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  167 

his  seed  should  be  numerous  as  the  stars,  etc.;  all 
this  might  look  unreasonable  to  Abraham,  but  he 
looked  up  to  heaven,  and  saw  the  sun  shining  in  his 
strength — remembered  the  twinkling  of  the  stars  by- 
night — thought  of  his  past  mercies  and  goodness,  and 
then  reasoned,  He  who  made  all  these  thing3, 
whose  wisdom  and  power  clothed  them  with  light, 
beauty,  and  harmony,  can  fulfill  his  own  word ;  and, 
while  looking  upon  these  witnesses  of  God's  perfec- 
tion, '  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  counted  to 
him  for  righteousness.'  Thus,  sir,  we  see  what  reason 
has  to  do  with  faith." 

Yes,  reader,  here  is  the  way  to  believe  the  tenets 
of  Calvinism:  just  stifle  the  intuitive  convictions  of 
right,,  as  they  spring  up  in  your  soul,  put  out  the  eyes 
of  common  sense,  shut  off  the  light  of  heaven,  and 
dogmatically  exclaim,  "  What  has  reason  to  do  with 
faith!" 

One  day  brother  King  went  to  Judge  R ,  car- 
rying with  him  a  copy  of  the  life  of  Wesley,  and  said 
to  him,  "  Judge,  here  is  a  book,  which,  if  you  will 
read  it,  will  leave  its  tracks  behind  it;  however,  if  it 
does,  you  will,  perhaps,  never  tell  me,  as  you  know 
the  tongue  can  be  made  to  do  as  you  please."  The 
Judge  took  the  book,  promising  to  read  it.  Some 
time  afterward,  brother  K.  went  over  to  see  the 
Judge,  and  found  him  in  the  field.  After  the 
usual  civilities,  the  Judge  said,  "  Well,  Mr.  King, 
do  you  remember  what  you  said  about  that  book  ?" 
Brother    K.    replied,    "  I   remember   it   very  well." 


168  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

"And   it   does   leave  its  tracks  behind  it,"  said  the 
Judge. 

K.     "  I  knew  it  would   do  that,  but    I  thought, 
probably,  you  would  never  tell  me  about  it." 

Judge..     "What    a    wonderful    man    Mr.   Wesley 
was !" 

K.     "  He  was  truly  a  wonderful  man." 

Judge.     "  And  now  I  want  to  hear  some  of  these 
Methodists  preach  ;  I  want  to  hear  for  myself." 

K.     "  One  of  them  will  preach  to-morrow,  at  Mr. 
D 's,  and  you  must  go  and  hear  for  yourself." 

Judge.     "  0,  I  can't  go  then,  but  I  will  go  soon." 

K.     "If  you  do  not   go  to-morrow,  perhaps  you 
will  never  go." 

Judge.     "  Well,  really,  I  can  not  stop  my  team." 

K.     "  I  shall    be  going,    and    I  will    come    and 
take  you." 

Judge.     "Then  I  will  go  with  you." 

Brother  King  was  so  pleased  that  he  rode  all  the 

way  up  to  D 's,  six  miles,  just  to  tell  him  that 

Judge  R was  going  to  attend  Methodist  meeting 

the  next  day.  I  happened  to  be  there,  and  heard 
him  relate  the  conversations  which  had  passed  be- 
tween them.  Said  he  to  me,  "Now,  brother  Lewis, 
you  know  that  Calvin  taught  that  God  works  right- 
eousness in  the  righteous,  and  wickedness  in  the 
wicked;  but  our  Savior  says  the  good  man  sowed 
the  good  seed,  and  the  devil  sowed  the  tares.  Now, 
brother,  not  that  I  wish  to  teach  you  how  to  preach, 
but  if  you  could  touch  upon  these  points  in  a  natural 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  169 


way,  it  seems  to  me  that  good  might  result  from  it." 
Brother  K.  left,  and  returned  the  next  day  in  com- 
pany with  his  friend,  the  Judge.     This  was  the  first 

time  Judge  R ever  heard  a  Methodist  sermon. 

He  remained  for  class,   after  which  we  had  a  lono- 
conversation.     He  was  much  surprised  on  being  told 
that  we  believed  all  infants,  dying  in  infancy,  would 
be  saved.     He  had  been  taught  that  if  both  parents 
were  pious,  the   child  would  be   saved;    if   one  was 
pious  and  belonged  to  the  Church,  there  was   some 
hope;   but  if  both  the  parents  were  wicked,  neither 
of  them  belonging  to  the  Church,  there  was  no  hope : 
the  child  of  such  parents,  dying  out  of  the  Church, 
was  surely  a  reprobate,  and  would  perish  forever !     I 
explained  to  him  that  no  infants  were  saved  because 
their  parents  were  pious,  but  because  Christ  redeemed 
them  by  his  blood,  and  saved  them  from  the  curse  of 
the  law.     He  raised  many  objections,  which  I  an- 
swered as  plainly  as   I   could,  and  after  conversing 
freely  together,  we  parted  with  the  best  of  feeling. 
Shortly  after  this,  the  Judge  said  to  brother  King,  "  I 
have  been  thinking  over  what  the  minister  said,  the 
other  day,  about  infants  being  saved,  and  the  more  I 
think  of  it,  the  more  reasonable  it  appears."    "  Yes," 
said  brother  K.,  "it  is  certainly  the  Bible  doctrine." 

It  was  not  long  till  the  Judge,  in  company  with 
brother  King,  attended  one  of  our  quarterly  meet- 
ings. We  had,  as  usual,  prayer  meeting  at  night, 
family  worship  where  we  lodged,  and  then  the  Judge 
observed    that  most   of   us,   before    retiring   to   rest, 


15 


170  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

bowed  the  knee  in  secret  devotion.  He  remarked, 
in  surprise,  that  these  men  prayed  more  than  any 
people  he  had  ever  known.  Said  he  to  brother  King, 
"  Only  think  of  it :  they  had  prayer  meeting,  prayed 
again  in  the  family,  and  then  prayed  in  secret  before 
going  to  bed !"  The  Church  members  with  whom  the 
Judge  had  been  associated,  thought  they  were  suffi- 
ciently pious  if  they  prayed  once  in  a  week,  or  once 
in  a  month.  He  continued  to  attend  our  meetings, 
and  finally  joined  the  Church,  and  became  a  warm- 
hearted Christian  and  a  happy  man. 

At  one  appointment  on  this  circuit,  there  lived 
several  men  of  skeptical  sentiments,  with  consider- 
able wealth  and  refinement,  whose  wives  belonged  to 
the  Church,  and  were  seldom  absent  from  divine 
worship,  although  the  preaching  was  on  week-day. 
Sometimes  their  husbands  would  accompany  them, 
and  invite  me  home  with  them.  I  would  generally 
accept  the  invitation;  and,  though  they  had  no  confi- 
dence in  the  divinity  of  our  faith,  they  would  treat 
me  well,  so  that  I  felt  quite  at  home  beneath  their 
roofs.  Some  men  are  amiable  in  spite  of  the  cor- 
rupting tendency  of  their  mental  convictions.  The 
refining  principles  of  Christianity  mold  their  hearts, 
while  the  evidences  of  the  heavenly  origin  of  the 
system  fail  to  command  the  assent  of  their  minds. 
My  association  with  these  men  was  most  agreeable, 
and  I  remember  their  hospitality  with  pleasurable 
emotions.  One  of  them  once  expressed  to  me  his 
doubts  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures:    there- 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  171 

upon  I  immediately  called  his  attention  to  Zechariah 
ix,  9:  "Rejoice  greatly,  0  daughter  of  Zion;  shout, 
0  daughter  of  Jerusalem:  behold,  thy  King  cometh 
unto  thee:  he  is  just,  and  having  salvation;  lowly, 
and  riding  upon  an  ass,  and  upon  a  colt,  the  foal  of 
an  ass."  I  first  dwelt  upon  the  time  intervening 
between  the  declarations  made  in  the  text,  and  their 
alleged  fulfillment.  The  prophet  wrote  some  five 
hundred  and  eighty- seven  years  before  the  birth  of 
Christ,  and  yet  he  clearly  discovered  the  Son  of 
David  making  his  noted  entry  into  Jerusalem;  he 
described  the  beast  he  rode,  the  multitudes  accom- 
panying him,  and  heard  their  triumphant  shouts  of 
"Hosannah  in  the  highest!"  My  remarks  were  ex- 
tended to  considerable  length.  Then,  after  a  time 
spent  in  silence,  my  friend  responded,  that  we  want 
preachers  to  marry  us  and  to  bury  our  dead,  and  that 
he  believed  the  preaching  was  useful;  that  it  tended 
to  correct  improper  habits,  improve  the  morals  of 
society,  etc. 

Here  is  one  of  the  strange  incongruities  of  the 
unbelieving.  They  admit  that  the  Gospel  is  useful — 
that  it  makes  men  better — that  it  improves  the 
morals  and  promotes  the  general  well-being  of  so- 
ciety, and,  when  their  friends  are  dying  or  dead, 
they  want  its  consolations ;  but  still  they  insist  that 
it  is  not  divine,  and  therefore  must  be  the  might- 
iest fraud  ever  palmed  upon  the  world !  But  not- 
withstanding the  inconsistency  of  their  course,  these 
were    special    friends    of  mine,    and    I   believe  they 


172  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

were  more  liberal  in  furnishing  their  wives  with 
money  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel,  than  any 
men  in  the  range  of  my  acquaintance.  Often  did 
my  prayer  ascend  to  heaven  for  their  conversion ; 
and  I  humbly  trust  that,  ere  this,  the  Gospel  which 
they  at  the  same  time  esteemed  and  denied,  has 
become  the  power  of  God  unto  their  salvation. 

In  the  town  of  M ,  I  was  permitted  to  preach 

two  discourses  in  the  Baptist  Church.  In  the  first, 
I  endeavored  to  set  forth  the  absurdity  of  flattering 
ourselves  that  we  are  Christians,  while  remaining 
destitute  of  the  Scriptural  marks  of  discipleship. 
At  the  close,  a  gentleman  approached  me  and  com- 
menced advocating  the  doctrine,  "  Once  in  grace, 
always  in  grace."  By  way  of  illustration,  he  said, 
"  You  know  we  sometimes  cover  up  our  fire  in 
the  evening  before  we  retire,  and  when  we  get  up 
in  the  morning  we  see  no  signs  of  fire  till  we  rake 
over  the  ashes — then  we  find  here  and  there  a 
spark  that  may  be  brought  together  and  kindled." 
"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  and  very  often,  after  raking  the 
ashes  most  diligently,  we  find  that  it  has  all  gone 
outT  After  the  second  sermon,  the  gentleman 
came  forward  again,  and  put  to  me  what  he  evi- 
dently considered  a  "stumper"  of  a  question.  Said 
he,  "  Mr.  Lewis,  when  a  man  is  converted  he  re- 
ceives something,  does  he  not?"  My  answer  was 
in  the  affirmative.  "  Xow,  then,"  said  he,  "  when 
a  man  falls  from  grace,  what  becomes  of  that  some- 
thing ?"      I   assured  him   that   God    could  withdraw 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  173 

his  grace  from  any  that  would  abuse  it,  referring 
him  to  the  case  of  the  man  who  refused  to  improve 
the  one  talent,  and  the  command  to  take  it  from 
him  and  give  it  to  him  that  had  ten. 

Some  time  after  this,  I  fell  in  company  with  the 
Baptist  minister.  He  also  introduced  the  subject, 
and  attempted  to  vindicate  the  notion  of  uncondi- 
tional perseverance.  He  based  his  argument  on 
the  parable  of  the  leaven  hid  in  three  measures  of 
meal  till  the  whole  was  leavened.  Said  he,  "  Did 
you  ever  know  leaven  placed  in  meal  that  failed  to 
produce  its  proper  effect  ?"  I  told  him  I  had  known 
it  often.  ""Well,"  said  he,  "has  not  the  leaven 
an  acting  principle  that  is  destined  to  work  V  I 
admitted  it ;  but  reminded  him  that  much  depended 
on  the  condition  of  the  meal — the  temperature  at 
which  it  is  kept,  etc.  The  meal  must  be  prepared, 
and  when  the  leaven  is  deposited,  it  must  not  be 
kept  too  hot  or  too  cold.  So  with  the  grace  of 
God.  It  must  be  received  into  the  heart,  and  then 
its  operation  must  not  be  resisted.  The  heart  only 
comes  under  the  assimilating  influence  of  grace,  in 
proportion  as  it  yields  to  the  demands  of  the 
Gospel.  "Without  the  concurrence  of  the  human 
will,  the  grace  of  God  will  no  more  diffuse  itself 
through  the  soul,  transforming  the  affections  to  the 
likeness  of  God,  than  leaven  will  produce  its  legiti- 
mate results  in  meal,  while  kept  in  an  atmosphere 
so  hot  or  so  cold  as  to  prevent  fermentation. 

In    attending    to    my   regular   rounds   of  duty  on 


174  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

the  circuit,  I  still  realized  much  of  the  divine  pres- 
ence. My  communion  with  God  was  uninterrupted. 
I  could  still  sing — 

"Not  a  doubt  doth  arise,  to  darken  the  skies, 
Or  hide  for  a  moment  my  Lord  from  mine  eyes." 

Our  meetings  were  lively  and  spiritual;  our  class 
meetings,  in  particular,  were  seasons  of  refreshing 
to  our  souls.  God  was  in  our  midst  to  kill  and 
make  alive,  and  the  attention  of  many  wanderers 
was  turned  to  the  things  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
But  one  great  hinderance  to  the  work  of  conversion 
was,  that  many  thought  they  must  make  themselves 
better  before  God  would  accept  them.  This  is  a 
common  error  ;  or,  I  may  say,  a  common  delusion 
of  the  devil.  When  persons  are  convinced  of  sin, 
they  discover  their  unworthiness  in  so  startling  a 
light  that  they  are  easily  persuaded  that  they  must 
not  venture  on  Christ  for  salvation,  till  they  expiate 
some  of  their  own  sins  by  repentance,  reformation, 
prayers  and  tears,  if  not  by  penance ;  and  under 
this  specious  delusion,  they  go  about  the  work,  only 
to  prove  the  weakness  of  their  resolutions,  and 
the  strength  of  the  chains  which  bind  them.  Vain 
effort ! 

"  If  you  tarry  till  you're  better, 
You  will  never  come  at  all !" 

Here  I  will  give  an  incident  illustrating  the  folly 
of  trying  to  remove  the  malady  from  our  own  sinful 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  175 

hearts.  It  was  related  by  one  of  my  Irish  members 
on  this  circuit,  who  lived  in  Ireland  at  the  time  it 
occurred,  and  knew  the  man  well.  A  Roman  Cath- 
olic was  passing  down  street,  and,  hearing  singing 
in  the  Methodist  chapel,  he  concluded  to  step  in  a 
few  minutes,  which  he  did,  without  any  intention  of 
staying ;  but  after  the  preacher  took  his  text,  he 
soon  found  himself  deeply  interested  in  the  discourse, 
and  tarried  till  the  meeting  closed.  The  next  day 
he  went  to  the  priest,  and  told  him  that  he  felt  very 
badly.  The  priest,  after  examining  him  somewhat, 
said  to  him,  "  I  know  what  is  the  matter ;  you  have 
been  among  those  Methodists,  and  they  have  made 
you  crazy;  but  I  can  cure  you."  After  receiving 
from  the  priest  his  prescription  of  penance,  the  man 
returned  home;  but  after  several  days,  he  went  back 
and  said  to  the  priest,  "  Indeed,  sir,  and  I  am  very 
sick  yet!"  "Well,"  said  the. priest,  "I  can  do  nothing 
more  for  you ;  you  must  go  to  the  i  old  father '  on 
the  island,  thirty  miles  distant,  he  can  cure  you. 
When  you  arrive  at  the  island,  any  one  can  tell  you 
where  the  father  lives."  Away  went  the  man  to 
the  island,  to  see  the  "father."  When  he  arrived 
there,  the  imposing  mansion  of  the  lordly  priest  was 
pointed  out  to  him,,  situated  on  an  eminence,  sur- 
rounded with  indications  of  wealth  and  luxury  sur- 
passing any  thing  to  which  the  untutored  "penitent" 
had  been  accustomed.  With  no  little  trepidation,  he 
approached,  being  little  less  in  awe  of  the  august 
character  of  the  "  old  father,"  than  of  the  magnifi- 


176  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

cence  surrounding  his  dwelling,  and  with  unaffected 
simplicity  handed  the  old  priest  a  written  confession, 
which  the  other  priest  had  sent — not  doubting  that 
his  mysterious  "sickness"  would  now  be  cured.  The 
"old  father"  read  the  confession,  looked  gravely  at 
the  man,  and  said,  "  You  are  a  desperately  wicked 
fellow."  "Ah,  sir,  an'  that's  not  all  that  I'm  guilty 
of!"  said  the  man.  "Well,  here,"  said  the  priest, 
"take  this  crust  of  bread,  and  go  over  yonder  on  the 
beach,  and  go  so  many  yards  [I  forget  the  number] 
on  your  bare  hands  and  knees;  eat  this  crust  of 
bread,  drink  a  little  water,  and  you  will  soon  become 
well."  He  followed  the  prescription  to  the  letter. 
He  went  to  the  beach,  fell  down  on  his  hands  and 
knees,  both  bare,  and  though  the  pebbles  cut  and 
mangled  his  flesh  in  a  terrible  manner,  he  went  the 
round  three  times  a  day  for  three  days,  but  found  no 
relief.  He  was  in  great  distress,  and  said,  "  What 
shall  I  do?  I  went  to  the  priest,  and  he  could  do 
me  no  good ;  I  went  to  the  '  old  father,'  and  he 
makes  me  no  better ;  now,  here  I  am,  thirty  miles 
from  home,  my  hands  and  knees  cut  to  a  jelly,  and 
lam  yet  no  better;  what  shall  I  do?"  He  deter- 
mined to  get  home,  if  possible ;  so  he  hobbled  off  in 
the  night,  and,  after  much  suffering,  he  reached  home, 
exhausted  and  full  of  pain.  He  went  to  bed  and 
remained  till  the  following  morning,  but  could  not 
sleep.  The  anguish  of  his  mind  was  more  intense 
than  the  pains  arising  from  his  abused  limbs.  That 
morning,   he   left  his  bed  and  went  down  into   his 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  177 

meadow  to  pray.  He  says,  "  I  fell  upon  my  knees 
behind  a  bunch  of  hay,  and  said,  '  I  have  been  to 
the  priest,  and  he  could  not  cure  me ;  I  went  to  the 
"old  father,"  and  he  could  do  me  no  good;  and  now 
I  am  come  to  try  what  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  can  do 
for  me.'  '  While  thus  engaged  in  prayer,  the  burden 
of  guilt  was  rolled  from  his  heart,  and  he  was  made 
well  and  happy.  How  true  the  language  of  Dr. 
Watts : 

"Nor  bleeding  bird,  nor  bleeding  beast, 
Nor  hyssop  branch,  nor  sprinkling  priest, 
Nor  running  brook,  nor  flood,  nor  sea, 
Can  wash  the  dismal  stain  away  !" 

Now  I  wish  to  record  the  goodness  of  God  in  pre- 
serving my  life,  in  the  midst  of  imminent  peril.  I 
was  using  a  remarkably  skittish  horse,  which  would  be 
frightened  at  the  flutter  of  the  smallest  leaf.  On  an 
extremely  cold,  windy  day,  I  was  driving  him  in  a 
light  carriage,  having  myself  wrapped  up  in  overcoat 
and  cloak,  with  a  horse-blanket  gathered  about  my 
feet,  to  protect  me  from  the  cold,  when  I  came  to  a 
hill  with  a  steep  descent  of  about  the  fourth  of  a 
mile.  I  started  down,  thinking  that  if  my  horse 
should  attempt  to  run,  I  would  try  to  run  him  over 
against  a  high  fence,  which  stood  to  the  right,  when 
suddenly  my  thoughts  were  interrupted  by  the  break- 
ing of  the  band  which  held  up  the  breeching.  The 
harness  fell,  and  I  was  at  the  mercy  of  my  horse, 
now  trembling  with  fright.  I  sprang  to  my  feet,  but 
found  them  fast  in  the  blanket.     The   horse   stood 


178  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

trembling,  till  I  disentangled  my  feet,  jumped  out, 
chocked  the  wheel,  and  readjusted  the  harness.  My 
heart  went  up  in  thankfulness  to  God,  whose  restrain- 
ing hand  rested  on  that  horse,  and  thus  preserved  my 
life.  I  believe  not  only  in  a  general,  but  also  in  a 
particular  providence ;  and  I  do  believe  that  God 
mercifully  interposed^  perhaps,  by  sending  an  angel, 
to  avert  from  me  a  fearful  calamity,  if  not  sudden 
death.  A  horse  is  a  vain  thing  for  safety,  but  salva- 
tion is  of  the  Lord. 

The  year  closed  pleasantly.  God  sustained  me  by 
his  grace,  and  we  felt  grateful  to  him  for  all  the  mer- 
cies of  the  year.  I  look  back  to  the  two  years  spent 
on  Cambridge  circuit,  with  more  than  ordinary  in- 
terest. The  scenes,  the  associations,  the  labors,  and, 
especially  the  experience  of  the  divine  fullness  which 
I  there  first  realized,  are  among  my  most  cherished 
recollections.  But  many  who  were  then  my  asso- 
ciates, with  whom  I  took  sweet  counsel,  and  in  whose 
company  I  went  to  the  house  of  God,  have  entered 
the  upper  glory,  and  are  now  tuning  their  harps  in 
the  presence  of  the  Lamb.  May  I  meet  them  all  in 
heaven ! 

"  They  mark'd  the  footsteps  that  he  trod ; 
His  zeal  inspired  their  breast ; 
And,  foll'wing  their  incarnate  God, 
Possess  the  promised  rest." 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  179 


CHAPTER    XII. 

BERN    CIRCUIT  —  TWO    YEARS. 

May,  1822,  our  conference  sat  in  the  city  of  New- 
York.  At  the  close  of  a  very  pleasant  session,  I 
received  my  appointment  to  Bern  circuit,  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  Hudson.  This  was  very  unexpected 
to  me.  I  had  generally  taken  the  whole  ground; 
indeed,  I  had  traveled  every  circuit  from  Lower 
Canada  down  to  Massachusetts ;  and,  in  going  to 
Bern  circuit,  I  had  to  pass  through  one  of  the  finest 
fields  of  labor  in  the  whole  conference,  where  there 
were  two  parsonages,  and  the  people  fully  able  to 
support  two  married  preachers.  There  was  no 
preacher's  house  on  the  circuit  to  which  I  was  sent, 
and  I  had  a  married  man  for  my  colleague — the  Rev. 
H.  Ames — a  blessed  good  man,  who  could  pray  and 
exhort  so  as  to  make  the  sinners  tremble.  This  was 
the  first  time  I  felt  dissatisfied  with  my  appointment. 
Before  conference,  the  presiding  elder  said  to  me,  he 
did  not  know  what  he  should  do  for  Bern  circuit ;  that 
the  ministerial  labor  had  been  inefficient,  and  the 
work  was  running  down :  but  I  did  not  suspect  that 
he  was  putting  out  a  "  feeler."  My  health  was  poor, 
and  the  country  was  exceedingly  rough;    so  I  felt 


180  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

very  much  aggrieved  at  being  sent  there.  I  besought 
the  elder  and  the  bishop  for  a  change,  but  all  to  no 
purpose ;  this,  and  only  this,  was  to  be  my  field  of 
toil  for  the  coming  year,  and  the  sequel  will  show 
how  unreasonable  it  is  to  murmur  at  the  allotments 
of  Providence. 

Having  completed  my  two  years  at  Cambridge,  I 
had  made  my  arrangements  for  moving  before  setting 
out  for  conference,  and,  on  my  return,  found  every 
thing  ready  for  loading  up,  so  that  the  Saturday  fol- 
lowing the  close  of  conference,  brought  us  safely  to  our 
field  of  labor.  The  distance  to  conference  was  two 
hundred  miles,  and  the  move  from  the  old  to  the  new 
circuit,  from  fifty  to  sixty.  On  Sabbath,  I  preached 
my  first  sermon  in  a  very  filthy  house ;  but  we  soon 
had  it  renovated,  and  also  engaged  part  of  an  un- 
finished building  for  sheltering  my  family.  This 
house  stood  in  a  retired  place,  with  no  water  there 
that  was  fit  for  drinking  or  washing ;  and  Methodist 
preachers  know  something  of  the  need  of  such  accom- 
modation as  good  washing  facilities  afford,  after  a 
long  move  ;  but,  Providence  came  to  our  relief,  and 
sent  down  refreshing  showers,  from  his  own  reservoir ; 
and,  by  putting  out  numerous  vessels,  we  were  soon 
supplied  with  the  element  so  indispensable  to  clean- 
liness. 

I  soon  set  out  for  the  lower  end  of  my  charge,  and, 
at  Rensselaerville,  learned  that  a  comfortable  house 
could  be  obtained,  with  good  water  privileges.  This 
was  an  extreme  point  on  the  circuit,  and,  if  my  family 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  181 

lived  there,  I  should  have  to  be  absent  from  them 
most  of  the  time  ;  but  as  it  seemed  the  only  point  at 
which  comfortable  quarters  could  be  had,  I  deter- 
mined to  accept  the  kind  offer  of  some  of  the  brethren 
to  move  us,  as  soon  as  the  demands  of  the  work  would 
allow  me  a  few  days  to  myself.  Before  I  made  the 
first  round,  the  work  of  the  Lord  broke  out  gloriously 
at  one  point,  and  I  told  my  wife  that  we  were  in 
the  right  place ;  that  I  now  felt  satisfied  we  should 
enjoy  ourselves  better  than  if  we  had  gone  to  the 
circuit  we  desired.  I  also  told  her,  that,  though  we 
did  not  live  in  elegantly-furnished  rooms,  and  walk 
upon  Turkey-carpets,  we  could  have  a  comfortable 
house,  with  all  necessary  conveniences,  and  a  good 
school  for  our  children.  Although  it  had  always 
been  severely  trying  to  Mrs.  L.  to  pack  up  and  move, 
she  went  at  it,  this  time,  with  pleasure,  and  we  were 
soon  in  the  little  village,  feeling  quite  at  home. 

The  presiding  elder's  remarks  before  conference,  in 
reference  to  ministerial  inefficiency,  were  now  forcibly 
brought  to  mind.  At  many  points  on  the  circuit  the 
class-books  had  not  been  marked  for  twelve  months; 
class  meetings  were  slimly  attended,  and,  of  course,  a 
general  prostration  of  religious  interest  was  the  con- 
sequence ;  for  whatever  other  denominations  may  do, 
experience  and  observation  teach  me  that  unless  class 
meetings  are  kept  up,  Methodist  societies  will  dwindle 
and  die.  Some  of  our  societies  were  ripe  for  refor- 
mation or  destruction;  and  with  this  impression  dis- 
tinct in  my  mind,  I  commenced  revising  the   class- 


182  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

books,  visiting  the  leaders  and  members,  and  urging 
upon  all  the  necessity  of  attending  the  means  of 
grace.  After  preaching,  I  would  request  all  the 
members  to  stay  for  class,  and  then  exhort  them  to 
faithfulness,  warning  the  delinquents  that  if  they  per- 
sisted in  neglect  of  duty  they  must  be  brought  before 
the  society  and  laid  aside  for  breach  of  rule. 

God  blessed  our  feeble  efforts  and  poured  out  the 
Spirit  from  on  high,  making  the  wilderness  to  become 
a  fruitful  field.  We  were  soon  in  the  midst  of  a  pow- 
erful revival  of  religion.  Rocks,  hills,  and  valleys 
were  no  longer  dreaded;  rough  places  were  made 
smooth,  crooked  places  were  made  straight,  hills  were 
brought  down  and  valleys  were  exalted  before  the 
Lord;  for  he  rained  righteousness  upon  us.  This 
mighty  baptism  of  the  Spirit  seemed  to  renew  the 
face  of  earth,  overspreading  the  landscape  with  a 
mantle  of  light.  "Sing,  0  ye  heavens;  for  the  Lord 
hath  done  it :  shout,  ye  lower  parts  of  the  earth : 
break  forth  into  singing,  ye  mountains,  0  forest, 
and  every  tree  therein:  for  the  Lord  hath  redeemed 
Jacob,  and  glorified  himself  in  Israel." 

We  now  established  a  new  appointment  in  Middle- 
town,  where  we  met  with  great  opposition.  Some  of 
the  " standing  order"  raised  the  hue  and  cry  against 
us,  as  if  we  had  been  the  veritable  wolves  in  sheep's 
clothing.  The  minister,  who  had  not  been  in  the 
neighborhood  for  perhaps  six  months,  came  and  stuck 
to  them  like  a  brother — laboring,  night  after  night, 
warning  the  people  against  our  encroachments,  and 


A      SUPERANNUATE.  183 

telling  them  that  we  preached  most  dangerous  doc- 
trine !  And  it  did  sometimes  seem  that  a  plain, 
Methodist,  Gospel  sermon,  was  like  a  bomb-shell 
among  Calvinistic  refinements. 

Once,  when  I  came  to  this  point,  and  learned  what 
a  dust  had  been  raised,  I  alluded  to  the  subject  in  a 
short  speech,  something  after  this  fashion:  "It  ap- 
pears to  me,  that  those  who  believe  God  has  fore- 
ordained whatsoever  comes  to  pass,  so  that  not  the 
smallest  event  can  possibly  occur  otherwise  than  as 
he  has  decreed,  ought  in  all  candor  to  be  careful 
how  they  oppose  Methodism,  lest  they  be  found  fight- 
ing against  God;  for  if  that  doctrine  be  true,  God 
has  decreed  that  there  should  be  just  so  many  Pres- 
byterians, so  many  Baptists,  and  so  many  Methodists, 
and  it  is  impossible  that  there  should  be  any  more 
or  any  less  of  either  than  he  has  particularly  and 
unchangeably  designed.  And  if  this  doctrine  be 
true,  God  has  decreed,  from  all  eternity,  that  there 
should  be  a  little  man  named  David  Lewis;  that  he 
should  be  a  Methodist  preacher;  that  he  should 
preach  just  such  doctrines  in  Middletown  as  he  has 
preached;  that  just  so  many  should  believe  them, 
and  so  many  should  not ;  and  he  has  moreover  de- 
creed, that  if  people  will  dislike  it,  get  mad  and  scold 
about  the  new  doctrine,  this  same  David  Lewis  should 
be  perfectly  unconcerned,  so  Christ  is  preached,  sin- 
ners converted,  and  the  name  of  the  Lord  glorified." 

Notwithstanding  the  outcry  against  us,  the  Lord 
favored  us  with  his  rich    grace,  and  a  fine    revival 


184  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

ensued.  A  Church  was  organized,  and  we  soon  had 
a  flourishing  society,  the  members  of  one  heart  and 
one  soul,  pulling  sweetly  together  in  the  Gospel  yoke. 
" Blessed  is  the  people  that  know  the  joyful  sound: 
they  shall  walk,  0  Lord,  in  the  light  of  thy  counte- 
nance. In  thy  name  shall  they  rejoice  all  the  day : 
and  in  thy  righteousness  shall  they  be  exalted." 

A  brother  in  this  place  had  a  pair  of  twin-boys, 
active,  bright,  good  scholars  for  their  age.  What  was 
singular  about  them  was,  that  one  of  them  would  pick 
up  a  book,  and  if  it  happened  wrong  end  up,  he 
would  read  with  the  greatest  fluency ;  it  seemingly 
making  no  difference  which  way  the  book  was  held, 
or  whether  he  read  backward  or  forward.  I  should 
like  much  to  know  what  has  become  of  those  fine 
little  boys. 

We  had  an  appointment  in  Schoharie,  the  county- 
seat.  Some  years  before,  this  place  was  noted  for 
wickedness.  It  was  considered  rather  unsafe  for  a 
preacher  to  pass  through  the  town.  But  there  was  a 
man  of  the  name  of  Stots,  noted  for  pugilistic  accom- 
plishments, who  became  soundly  converted,  and  the 
fighting  propensity  all  taken  out  of  his  heart.  After 
this,  he  became  the  stanch  friend  of  the  preachers, 
and  the  people  were  mostly  afraid  of  him.  He  was 
in  the  habit  of  accompanying  the  preachers  through 
this  place,  as  a  sort  of  body-guard,  to  their  next 
appointment  beyond;  but  in  my  day  here,  outward 
opposition  of  this  kind  had  pretty  much  ceased.  I 
found  living  here  an  excellent  local  preacher,  of  the 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  185 

name  of  Wate.  Many  a  happy  night  did  I  spend 
with  him  and  his  pious  family. 

Finally,  I  will  say  that  we  were  blessed  with  a 
general  revival  throughout  the  circuit;  and  rough 
and  forbidding  as  the  country  seemed  in  the  start, 
I  closed  up  the  year's  labor  happy  in  the  Savior, 
and  having  no  desire  to  move  to  another  field.  I 
still  felt  an  indwelling  God.  Blessed  be  his  holy 
name  !  "  0,  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  his 
goodness,  and  for  his  wonderful  works  to  the  chil- 
dren of  men!" 

This  year,  I  received  my  whole  quarterage  claim, 
and  seventeen  or  twenty  dollars  for  table  expenses; 
paid  my  own  house-rent,  but  received  more  than  any 
previous  year  in  the  New  York  conference.  Having 
made  new  class-books,  and  attended  to  the  various 
concerns  of  the  circuit,  I  left  for  the  seat  of  confer- 
ence, where  I  was  permitted  to  renew  many  happy 
acquaintances  with  brethren  in  the  ministry.  We 
greeted  each  other  in  the  name  of  our  common  Lord, 
and  talked  over  the  labors,  sufferings,  and  success  of 
the  past  year,  and  rejoiced  together  in  hope  of  "the 
common  salvation." 

In    1823,    our    conference    sat    in    .     Bishop 

George  presiding.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life, 
I  now  made  some  remarks  relative  to  my  appoint- 
ment, which  the  Bishop  readily  understood.  Said 
he,  "You  do  not  wish  to  move."  Said  I,  "You 
crowded  me  there,  and  now  I  do  not  want  you  to 
snatch  me  away."     I  was  returned  to  Bern  circuit, 

16 


186  KECOLLECTIONS     OF 

which  was  satisfactory,  so  far  as  I  know,  to  all 
concerned.  The  Church  was  in  a  healthy  state, 
the  membership  generally  disposed  to  commence 
anew  the  divine  life,  giving  themselves  np  more 
fully  to  the  service  of  God ;  but  new  obstacles  to 
the    advancement    of  truth    were    preparing  for   us. 

A  Mr.   S ,  a   preacher  of  Unitarianism,   of   the 

order  called  New-Lights,  now  known  as  Bible  Chris- 
tians, began  preaching  some  twelve  or  fourteen 
miles  below  us,  and  created  quite  a  stir  among  the 
people,  by  his  zeal  in  advocating  those  peculiar 
notions  for  which  the  sect  is  distinguished.  Many 
of  our  citizens  went  down  to  hear  him,  and  some 
thought  him  the  greatest  man  they  ever  listened  to. 
Of  course,  his  sentiments  spread  like  wildfire,  and 
threatened  serious  consequences  to  the  cause  of 
orthodox  Christianity.  A  young  Mr.  W ,  a  stu- 
dent  of    medicine,    whose    sentiments   were    of    the 

materialist   type,    invited    the    Rev.    Mr.    S to 

come  to  our  town  and  preach.  On  hearing  it,  I 
expressed  a  desire  that  he  should  preach  on  their  pe- 
culiar doctrines.  The  Doctor,  with  whom  the  young 
student  was  boarding,  said  he  would — that  he  ex- 
pected him  to  put  up  at  his  house,  and  would 
request  him  to  do  so.     The  appointed  time  arrived, 

and   Mr.  S came  and    delivered    his    wonderful 

discourse.  He  spent  considerable  time,  in  the  first 
place,  proving  that  there  is  but  one  God;  then  he 
occupied  an  hour  and  a  half  in  proving  that  Jesus 
Christ  is    the   Son   of   God;    and   finally  closed  by 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  187 

drawing  the  conclusion  from  these  two  propositions, 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  not  God. 

The  first  and  second  propositions  are  perfectly 
Scriptural ;  no  man,  with  the  Bible  before  him,  will 
pretend  to  deny  them ;  but  the  inference  is  not. 
warranted  by  the  premises.  There  is  more  in  the 
conclusion  than  in  the  premises  ;  hence,  the  argu- 
ment is  fallacious ;  but  it  was  just  the  kind  of  dis- 
course to  produce  effect  among  superficial  thinkers. 
Many  were  highly  elated — thought  the  new  doctrine 
unanswerably  established ;  it  was  therefore  mani- 
festly important  to  do  something  at  once  to  counter- 
act the  influence  of  the  mischievous  error,  before  it 
brought  forth  fruit  to  perfection.  Impressed  with 
this  fact,  I  announced  that  at  my  next  regular  ap- 
pointment— three  weeks  from  the  Sabbath  on  which 

Mr.    S preached — I   would,    the    Lord    willing, 

offer  my  views  on  the  deity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

This  produced  a  breeze.     Mr.  S 's  sermon,  and 

the  one  now  proposed,  formed  the  whole  topic  of 
conversation ;  the  excitement  was  intense ;  Bibles 
were  seen  on  the  counter  and  in  the  shops — every 
one  had  something  to  say  on  the  Sonship  of  our 
adorable  Redeemer.  0,  that  they  had  been  as 
eager  to  seek  redemption  in  his  blood!  But  men 
are    always    inclined    to    show    more    zeal    for    an 

opinion,  than  for  the  life  of  their  souls.     Mr.  S 

preached  another  sermon  before  my  appointment 
came,  which  had  no  tendenc}^  to  allay  the  excite- 
ment.     At   length  the    day  arrived,  the    house  was 


188  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

crowded  with  wide-awake  hearers,  and  I  endeavored, 
to  the  best  of  my  ability,  to  vindicate  this  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  our  holy  religion,  which  had 
been  so  virulently  assailed.  I  propose  to  give  an 
outline  of  the  discourse  delivered  on  that  occasion. 

The  text  selected  was  the  last  clause  of  the  first 
verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  our  Lord's  Gospel  by 
St.  John:  "And  the  Word  was  God."  I  re- 
marked as  follows  :  "  And — the — word — was — God." 
Was  it  not  ?  Who  will  dispute  it  ?  I  dare  not ! 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  Word,  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
14th  verse :  "  And  the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  us,  etc."  Now,  this  Word,  the  Lord 
Jesus,  who  was  God,  and  who  was  made  flesh,  pos- 
sessed two  whole,  complete,  and  yet  distinct  natures; 
he  was  truly  and  essentially  God,  and  truly  and 
essentially  man.  He  is  sometimes  spoken  of  in 
Scripture  in  reference  to  his  human  nature,  and 
sometimes  in  reference  to  his  higher  nature — his 
essential  Godhead,  or  Deity.  When  reference  is 
had  to  his  humanity,  inferiority  is  attributed  to  him  ; 
as  when  he  says,  "My  Father  is  greater  than  I;" 
but  when  the  reference  is  to  his  higher  nature, 
perfect  equality  with  the  Father  is  ascribed  to  him ; 
as  when  he  says,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one." 

But  right  here,  in  the  outset,  we  are  met  with 
the  objection — the  old  stereotyped  objection  of  in- 
fidelity against  Christianity — that  this  is  so  mys- 
terious that  we  can  not  comprehend  it.  The  inquiry 
is  urged  upon  us,    "Do    you  expect   us    to    believe 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  189 

in  mysteries?"  "We  do  expect  you  to  believe  in 
facts,  the  mode  of  which  you  can  not  understand. 
If  you  do  not,  you  will  believe  in  nothing.  You 
are  surrounded  with  mystery ;  you  find  it  without 
and  within  you ;  the  air  you  breathe,  the  water 
you  drink,  the  food  you  eat,  the  sights  that  delight 
your  eyes,  the  sounds  that  salute  your  ears,  the 
fragrant  odors  that  regale  your  sense  of  smell — 
all  these  contain  mysteries  which  no  finite  mind 
can  fathom.  But  Ave  do  not  ask  you  to  believe 
in  mysteries ;  we  only  ask  you  to  believe  what 
God  has  revealed — to  take  his  word  and  testimony, 
believing  it  to  contain  nothing  but  the  truth,  though 
that  truth  be  so  high,  so  great,  so  sublime  as  to 
tower  to  the  heavens,  and  lose  itself  from  your 
gaze,  in  the  ineffable  light  that  surrounds  the  throne 
of  God!  You  must  learn  to  distinguish  between 
a  fact,  and  the  mode  of  a  fact.  You  can  believe 
in  one  and  not  the  other.  You  believe  your  soul 
and  body  are  united — there  is  the  fact ;  but  you 
know  nothing  about  how  they  are  united — that  is, 
you  do  not  understand  the  mode  of  the  fact,  and 
you  believe  nothing  about  the  mode.  The  fact  is 
before  you,  and  it  challenges  your  belief;  but  the 
mode  is  mysterious.  Thus  in  religion:  the  facts, 
the  truths,  are  revealed,  and  we  are  called  upon  to 
believe  them ;  and  whatever  of  mystery  attaches  to 
them,  is  found  to  belong  to  the  mode  of  the  facts, 
and  is  not  an  object  of  faith.  But  it  is  absurd  to 
reject  facts,   because    you    can    not   understand   the 


190  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

manner  of  them.  You  do  no  such  thing  in  regard 
to  the  world  around  you,  and  I  would  have  you 
draw  off  your  minds  at  once  from  mysteries,  and 
fix  them  upon  the  facts  brought  to  light  in  the 
Bible. 

But  suppose  I  quote  fifty  passages  proving  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  these  will  not  dis- 
prove that  he  is  God — for  he  is  both ;  or  suppose  I 
bring  forward  as  many  texts  to  prove  that  he  is  God, 
these  will  not  disprove  that  he  is  man — because  he  is 
both  God  and  man ;  so  when  our  opponents  prove 
that  the  Son  of  man  was  inferior  to  his  almighty 
Father,  they  have  proved  nothing  at  all  bearing  on 
the  issue  before  us.  They  must  prove  that  he  is  not 
God!  They  must  make  it  appear  that  the  Word 
was  not  made  flesh,  or  else  that  the  text  is  false  when 
it  says  the  Word  was  God  ! 

I  wish  you  to  notice  that  there  are  two  names — I 
say  not  words,  but  names — which  are  synonymous  : 
I  Am,  and  Jehovah.  These  are  underived,  and 
incommunicable.  I  Am,  means  self-existent,  inde- 
pendent, a  perfect  whole ;  it  denotes  a  nature,  or 
subsistence,  that  can  not  but  be — and  which  can  not 
be  imparted  to  any  other  being.  So  with  the  name 
Jehovah.  It  is  the  proper  title  of  the  self-existent, 
independent,  immutable  God.  Now,  if  I  show  that 
Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  Jesus  Christ  of 
the  New  Testament,  are  one  and  the  same  being, 
you  will  be  bound  to  admit  the  doctrine  for  which  I 
contend ;  that  our  Lord  and  Savior  is  the  ever-living 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  191 

and  true  God.     Now  for  the  text  once  more  :  "  And 
the  Word  was  God!" 

I  have  one  broad  proposition ;  namely,  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  unoriginated  God.  I  pledge  myself  to  establish, 
from  the  Scriptures,  this  most  glorious  doctrine.  In 
order  to  redeem  this  pledge,  I  will  proceed  to  col- 
lect and  collate  passages  from  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  showing  their  bearing  on  the  point  before 
us.  The  first  I  notice  is  Exodus  iii,  14 :  "  And  God 
said  unto  Moses,  I  Am  That  I  Am  :  Thus  shalt  thou 
say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  Am  hath  sent  me 
unto  you."  Compare  this  with  John  viii,  58:  "Jesus 
saith  unto  them,  before  Abraham  was,  I  Am."  Had 
Christ  merely  intended  to  claim  that  he  existed  be- 
fore Abraham  was  born  he  would  have  used  the  past 
tense ;  but  this  he  never  did  with  reference  to  his  own 
essential  nature  or  being.  He  claims  the  Old  Testa- 
ment appellation  of  the  self-existent  God.  He  was 
therefore  the  eternal  God,  or  he  made  a  wrong  use  of 
this  title,  and  claimed  a  character  he  did  not  possess. 

See,  next,  Ex.  xix,  16-20 :  "  And  it  came  to  pass, 
on  the  third  day  in  the  morning,  that  there  were  thun- 
ders and  lightnings  and  a  thick  cloud  upon  the  mount, 
and  the  voice  of  the  trumpet  exceeding  loud ;  so  that 
all  the  people  that  were  in  the  camp  trembled.  And 
Moses  brought  forth  the  people  out  of  the  camp  to 
meet  with  God ;  and  they  stood  at  the  nether  part 
of  the  mount.  And  Mount  Sinai  was  altogether  on 
a  smoke,  because  the  Lord  descended  upon  it  in  fire  : 
and  the  smoke  thereof  ascended  as  the  smoke  of  a 


192  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

furnace,  and  the  whole  mount  quaked  greatly.  And 
when  the  voice  of  the  trumpet  sounded  long,  and 
waxed  louder  and  louder,  Moses  spake,  and  God 
answered  him  by  a  voice.  And  the  Lord  came  down 
upon  Mount  Sinai,  on  the  top  of  the  mount :  and  the 
Lord  called  Moses  up  to  the  top  of  the  mount ;  and 
Moses  went  up."  Compare  this  with  Hebrews  xii, 
18-26:  "For  ye  are  not  come  unto  the  mount  that 
might  be  touched,  and  that  burned  with  fire,  nor 
unto  blackness,  and  darkness,  and  tempest,  and  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  the  voice  of  words;  which 
voice  they  that  heard,  entreated  that  the  word  should 
not  be  spoken  to  them  any  more,  (for  they  could  not 
endure  that  which  was  commanded,  and  if  so  much 
as  a  beast  touch  the  mountain,  it  shall  be  stoned,  or 
thrust  through  with  a  dart :  and  so  terrible  was  the 
sight,  that  Moses  said,  I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake;) 
but  ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto  the  city 
of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to 
an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the  general 
assembly  and  Church  of  the  first-born,  which  are 
written  in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  Judge  of  all,  and 
to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus 
the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood 
of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things  than  that  ■ 
of  Abel.  See  that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh  ! 
For  if  they  escaped  not  who  refused  him  that  spake 
on  earth,  much  more  shall  not  we  escape,  if  we  turn 
away  from  him  that  speaketh  from  heaven:  whose 
voice  then  shook  the  earth :    but  now  he  hath  prom- 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  193 

ised,  saying  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not  the  earth 
only,  but  also  heaven."  Both  these  passages,  I 
claim,  refer  to  Jesus  Christ  as  God :  "  See  that  ye 
refuse  not  him  that  speaketh!"  This  manifestly 
refers  to  Christ.  He  is  the  "Mediator  of  the  new 
covenant;"  and  his  word  is  the  law  of  the  Church. 
"Whoever  may  be  alluded  to  as  speaking  on  the  earth, 
which  was  probably  Moses,  it  is  Christ  that  "  speak- 
eth from  heaven."  This  is  clear  beyond  question  from 
the  scope  of  the  passage ;  but  it  is  equally  plain  that 
it  was  the  same  being  "  whose  voice  then  shook  the 
earth" — that  is,  when  the  voice  spoke  to  Moses  on 
Sinai.  But  if  it  is  Christ  that  speaketh  from  heaven, 
and  if  it  was  his  voice  that  shook  the  earth  in  the 
days  of  Moses,  then  surely  Christ  is  God,  or  Paul 
was  mistaken. 

In  corroboration  of  the  position  that  both  the  above 
Scriptures  refer  to  Christ,  proving  him  to  be  the 
Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament,  I  present  the  follow- 
ing :  "  The  chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousand, 
even  thousands  of  angels :  the  Lord  is  among  them, 
as  in  Sinai,  in  the  holy  place.  Thou  hast  ascended 
on  high,  thou  hast  led  captivity  captive ;  thou  hast 
received  gifts  for  men ;  yea,  for  the  rebellious  also, 
that  the  Lord  God  might  dwell  among  them."  Psalm 
lxviii,  17,  18.  Compare  this  with  Ephesians  iv,  7,  8 : 
"But  unto  every  one  of  us  is  given  grace  according  to 
the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ.  Wherefore,  he 
saith,  When  he  ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  captivity 

captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men."     Now,  that  same 

17 


194  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

God  that  was  upon  Mount  Sinai,  was  among  the 
angels  of  God,  and  ascended  up  on  high,  according 
to  the  Psalmist ;  and  St.  Paul  affirms  that  it  was 
Christ.  Who  ascended  up  on  high,  leading  captivity 
captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men?  Paul  says  it  was 
Christ ;  but  the  Psalmist  says  it  was  the  Lord,  the 
God  that  dwelleth  among  the  angels,  the  same  that 
was  upon  Sinai;  therefore,  Christ  is  God,  the  God 
of  Israel,  or  Paul  made  a  wrong  application  of  the 
passage. 

Look,  next,  at  Numbers  xxi,  5,  6:  "And  the  peo- 
ple spake  against  God,  and  against  Moses,  Wherefore 
have  ye  brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt  to  die  in  the 
wilderness  ?  for  there  is  no  bread,  neither  is  there  any 
water  ;  and  our  soul  loatheth  this  light  bread.  And 
the  Lord  sent  fiery  serpents  among  the  people,  and 
they  bit  the  people;  and  much  people  of  Israel  died.'3 
Compare  this  with  1st  Corinthians  x,  9:  "Neither 
let  us  tempt  Christ,  as  some  of  them  also  tempted, 
and  were  destroyed  of  serpents."  The  Israelites 
tempted  the  Lord  in  the  wilderness — they  'spake 
against  God  ;"  but  Paul  says  they  tempted  Christ. 
This  is  the  meaning  of  the  apostle's  language,  beyond 
all  doubt ;  for,  the  pronoun  him,  after  the  word 
"  tempted,"  is  clearly  implied;  and  the  plainest  rules 
of  grammar  require  that  it  be  understood  of  Christ. 
But  if  so,  then  Christ  must  be  God — the  Jehovah 
God  of  Israel,  or  Paul  has  misapplied  the  Scripture. 

I  direct  attention  to  the  following  verses  from  the 
thirty-second   chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  for  the  pur- 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  195 

pose  of  fixing   your  minds  upon  the  term  "Rock;" 

namely,  the  4th,  15th,  18th,  31st:  "He  is  the  Rock, 

his  work  is  perfect :  for  all  his  ways  are  judgment : 

a  God  of  truth,  and  without  iniquity,  just  and  right  is 

he."     "But  Jeshurun  waxed  fat,  and  kicked:  thou 

art  waxen  fat,  thou  art  grown  thick,  thou  art  covered 

with  fatness  ;  then  he   forsook  God  which  made  him, 

and  lightly  esteemed  the  Rock  of  his  salvation."     "  Of 

the   Rock    that  begat  thee  thou   art  unmindful,  and 

hast  forgotten  God  that  formed  thee."     "  For  their 

rock  is  not  as  our  Rock,  even  our  enemies  themselves 

being  judges."     See,  also,  Psalm  lxxviii,  35:    "And 

they  remembered  that  God  was  their  Rock,  and  the 

high  God   their   Redeemer."     But  St.   Paul,   in  his 

first  epistle    to  the  Corinthians,   says,   this  rock  was 

Christ.      "And    did   all    drink    the    same    spiritual 

drink:    (for  they  drank  of   that  spiritual  Rock  that 

followed  them ;    and  that  Rock  was  Christ.")    1  Cor. 

x,  4.     Christ  was  the  Rock,  the  Redeemer,  the  God, 

the  high  God,  the   salvation  of  Israel,  or   St.  Paul  is 

guilty  of  perverting  the  Scriptures  ! 

Now  read  Nehemiah  ix,  30 :  "  Yet  many  years 
didst  thou  forbear  them,  and  testifiedst  against  them 
by  thy  Spirit,  in  thy  prophets:  yet  would  they  not 
give  ear :  therefore  gavest  thou  them  into  the  hand 
of  the  people  of  the  lands."  Whose  spirit  was  in 
the  prophets  ?  Was  it  not  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  But 
Peter  said  it  was  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  "  Of  which 
salvation  the  prophets  have  inquired,  and  searched 
diligently,  who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should 


196  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

come  unto  you :  searching  what,  or  what  manner  of 
time  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  which  was  in  them,  did  sig- 
nify, when  it  testified,  beforehand,  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow."  1  Peter  i, 
10,  11.  God  inspired  the  prophets,  by  his  Holy 
Spirit,  and  that  was  the  Spirit  of  Christ ;  therefore, 
Christ  is  God,  or  Peter  was  in  the  wrong  !  "  Thy 
throne,  0  God,  is  forever  and  ever :  the  scepter  of 
thy  kingdom  is  a  right  scepter.  Thou  lovest  right- 
eousness, and  hatest  wickedness:  therefore  God,  thy 
God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness 
above  thy  fellows."  Psalm  xlv,  6,  7.  St.  Paul  ap- 
plies this  passage  to  Christ,  in  Hebrews  i,  8,  9: 
"  But  unto  the  Son,  he  saith,  Thy  throne,  0  God, 
is  forever  and  ever,"  etc.;  therefore,  the  Son  is  God, 
or  the  application  of  this  passage  to  him  is  wrong. 
"  Of  old  hast  thou  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth : 
and  the  heavens  are  the  work  of  thy  hands.  They 
shall  perish,  but  thou  shalt  endure  :  yea,  all  of  them 
shall  wax  old  like  a  garment ;  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou 
change  them,  and  they  shall  be  changed :  but  thou 
art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall  have  no  end." 
Psalm  cii,  25-27.  This  is  an  inspired  address  to 
God,  the  God  of  Israel,  whom  David  worshiped ; 
but  it  is  applied  to  Christ  by  an  inspired  apostle, 
Heb.  i,  10-12:  "  And,  Thou,  Lord,  in  the  begin- 
ing  hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth/'  etc.;  the 
conjunction  "  and "  connects  this  with  the  first 
clause  of  the  8th  verse,  "  But  unto  the  Son,  he 
saith,"    etc.;    so  that  there    can   be   no    doubt    that 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  197 

the  passage  is  applied  to  Christ :  Christ  is  there- 
fore God,  or  the  apostle  was  wrong  in  applying  these 
words  to  him. 

Let  us  next  notice  Isaiah  xl,  3-5 :  "  The  voice 
of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a 
highway  for  our  God.  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted, 
and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made  low  :  and 
the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough 
places  plain :  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together :  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it."  This  passage 
is  applied  to  John  the  Baptist,  preparing  the  way 
before  Christ,  the  coming  Messiah.  "  For  this  is  he 
that  was  spoken  of  by  the  prophet  Esaias,  saying, 
The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare 
ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight." 
Matt,  iii,  3.  Wesley,  Burke tt,  Benson,  Buck,  Clarke, 
and  the  learned  generally,  tell  us  that  "Lord,"  in 
this  place,  is  Jehovah,  in  the  original  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  there  is  not  the  least  shadow 
of  doubt  that  the  prophet  spoke  of  the  great  God 
of  Israel;  but  John  was  the  "voice,"  and  he  was 
sent  to  prepare  the  way  before  Christ;  therefore 
Christ  is  God,  the  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament, 
or  the  passage  is  misapplied  in  Matthew.  On 
this  point  also  compare  Malachi  iii,  1,  with  Matthew 
xi,  7-10. 

Hosea  xiii,  4:  "  Yet  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God  from 
the  land  of  Egypt,  and  thou  shalt  know  no  God  but 


198  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

me :  for  there  is  no  Savior  beside  me."  Compare 
with  Jude  25  :  "  To  the  only  wise  God  our  Savior, 
be  glory  and  majesty,  dominion  and  power,  both 
now  and  for  ever.  Amen."  God  says  by  the  mouth 
of  Hosea,  that  he  is  the  only  God,  and  the  only 
Savior ;  Jude  ascribes  praises  to  the  only  wise  God 
and  Savior ;  therefore,  if  Christ  be  not  God,  he  is 
not  a  Savior  !  So  Isaiah  xliii,  11 :  "  I,  even  I,  am 
the  Lord;  and  beside  me  there  is  no  Savior."  But 
Paul  says,  "  Looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the 
glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our  Savior 
Jesus  Christ."  Titus  ii,  13.  Jesus  Christ  is  there- 
fore God,  or  he  is  not  a  Savior ;  for  God  says, 
"Beside  me  there  is  no  Savior!" 

Look  at  the  following :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  the 
King  of  Israel,  and  his  Redeemer  the  Lord  of  hosts; 
I  am  the  first,  and  I  am  the  last;  and  beside  me 
there  is  no  God."  Isaiah  xliv,  6.  Now  look  at  this  : 
"  And  when  I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead. 
And  he  laid  his  right  hand  upon  me,  saying  unto 
me,  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and  the  last :  I  am  he 
that  liveth  and  was  dead;  and,  behold,  I  am  alive 
for  evermore,  Amen ;  and  have  the  keys  of  hell 
and  of  death."  Rev.  i,  17,  18.  Was  it  Christ  that 
was  dead,  and  liveth  again,  having  the  keys  of  hell 
and  of  death  ?  None  dare  dispute  it !  Then  Christ 
says,  "lam  the  first  and  the  last:"  and  God  says, 
"  I  am  the  first  and  the  last ;  and  beside  me  there 
is  no  God!"  Christ,  therefore,  is  "the  Lord  the 
King  of   Israel,    and    his    Redeemer    the    Lord  of 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  199 

hosts;"  or  this  Scripture,  which  calls  him  "  the  first 
and  the  last,"  is  false. 

I  now  direct  attention  to  Isaiah  xii,  2:  "  Behold, 
God  is  my  salvation ;  I  will  trust,  and  not  be  afraid  : 
for  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  my  strength  and  my  song ; 
he  also  is  become  my  salvation."  Compare  with 
Acts  iv,  12  :  "  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any 
other  :  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven 
given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  This 
was  said  of  Christ ;  but  the  prophet  said  the  Lord 
Jehovah  is  become  his  salvation  :  Christ  is  there- 
fore the  Lord  Jehovah,  in  whom  is  everlasting 
strength,  or  else  the  prophet,  or  St.  Peter  was 
mistaken.  But  if  Christ  is  the  Lord  Jehovah,  he 
is  truly  and  essentially  God ;  for  this  is  that  un- 
derived  and  incommunicable  name  which  belongs  to 
none  but  the  self-existent,  eternal  God. 

But  I  will  cease  collating  Old  and  New  Testament 
passages,  and  notice  a  few  other  Scriptures  in  a 
general  way,  and  bring  my  remarks   to  a  close. 

"For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is 
given :  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his 
shoulder :  and  his  name  [expressive  of  nature]  shall 
be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  mighty  God, 
the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace."  Isaiah 
ix,  6.  This  passage  refers  to  Christ,  and  causes 
no    little    trouble  to  those  who  deny  his    claims    to 

the  perfections  of  Deity.      Mr.   S told  us  that 

Christ  is  called  God,  because  he  is  the  father  of 
God's    children — pretty   good,  is  it  not? — and   that 


200  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

there  can  not  be  a  father  without  a  son,  nor  a  son 
without  a  father  ;  and  that  the  son  can  not  be  as 
old  as  his  father,  etc.  Now  look  at  this :  There  can 
be  no  father  till  there  is  a  son ;  then,  whatever 
God  was  prior  to  the  existence  of  the  Son,  he  was 
not  Father ;  and  the  moment  the  Son  came  into 
being,  the  Father,  as  such,  came  into  being,  or  be- 
came what  he  was  not  before  !  Or,  he  says,  "  There 
can  be  no  Father  without  a  Son  ;"  and  if  father  is 
a  property  of  the  Deity,  an  essential  characteristic 
of  his  nature,  then  the  existence  of  the  Son  is  nec- 
essary to  the  perfection  of  God ;  and  if  God  was 
always  perfect,  the  Son  must  always  have  existed. 
But  the  trouble  with  our  opponents  is,  they  constantly 
conceive  of  God  as  of  men,  and  because  a  man  is 
never  so  old  as  his  father,  they  argue  that  there  is 
no  sense  in  which  the  Son  of  God  is  equal  to  his 
Father,  in  power  and  eternity,  notwithstanding  such 
equality  is  ascribed  to  him  in  the  Bible.  But  the 
cases  are  not  parallel.  The  nature  of  God  and 
the  nature  of  man  are  far  different.  This  argument 
against  the  Deity  of  Christ  falls  to  the  ground, 
because  the  analogy,  in  which  it  is  founded,  has  no 
existence. 

Here  is  another  criticism.  Mr.  Millard  says,  "  The 
prophet  does  not  say  that  he  is  the  mighty  God,  but 
that  he  shall  be  so  called"  But  who  calls  him  the 
mighty  God?  Have  we  not  seen  that  he  is  "so 
called"  in  the  Scriptures?  And  if  so,  are  we  not 
bound  to  believe  that  he  is  correctly  so  called?     If  the 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  201 

sacred  writers  "  call "  him  what  he  is  not,  they  do  it 
from  ignorance  or  wickedness ;  but  to  attribute  either 
to  them  is  to  destroy  their  claim  to  inspiration,  and 
plunge  us  into  open  infidelity. 

But  again:  It  is  said  that  men  are  called  gods  in 
the  Bible,  as  when  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  "I  have 
made  thee  a  god  to  Pharaoh."  True;  but  where 
men  are  called  gods,  the  scope  of  the  passage  points 
out  the  subordinate  sense  in  which  the  term  is  used. 
Not  so  of  Christ.  He  is  plainly  recognized  as  the 
very  God  who  said  to  Moses,  "I  have  made  thee  a 
god  to  Pharaoh."  This  expression  refers  to  Exodus 
iv,  16,  where  God  tells  Moses  he  shall  be  to  his 
brother  as  God,  or  "instead  of  God,"  implying  that 
what  Moses  received  of  God,  he  should  communicate 
to  his  brother,  who  was  to  be  his  spokesman.  He 
was  to  make  Pharaoh  see  the  power  and  feel  the 
judgments  of  God;  but  there  is  nothing  like  the 
nature  of  God  ascribed  to  Moses.  Neither  Moses, 
Joshua,  or  any  of  the  prophets  or  apostles,  are  called 
the  "mighty  God."  This  appellation  belongs  to  the 
"  Son  given,"  "Immanuel,"  God  with  us. 

"But  he  is  the  Son  of  God."  Yes,  and  men  are 
sometimes  called  "sons  of  God;"  but  this  fact  does 
not  prove  that  men  are  sons  in  the  same  sense  that 
Christ  is  a  Son.  So  the  fact  that  men  are  called 
"gods,"  does  not  prove  that  Christ  is  God  in  the 
same  sense  that  men  are.  The  same  argument  that 
will  prove  him  not  God,  because  men  are  called  gods, 
will  prove  him  not  the  Son,  because  men  are  called 


202  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

sons.  He  is  called  the  Son  of  man;  meaning  that 
he  is  truly  and  properly  man,  for  he  had  no  human 
father;  so  his  being  called  the  Son  of  God,  denotes 
that  he  is  truly  and  properly  God;  that  he  has  the 
nature,  the  attributes,  the  perfections  of  God.  You 
might  as  well  argue  that  I  am  not  man,  because  I  am 
the  son  of  a  man,  as  to  contend  that  Christ  is  not 
God,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  God. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  be  deeply  skilled  in  logic,  but 
I  understand  it  to  be  a  well-established  maxim,  that 
any  proposition  or  argument  that  proves  too  much,  or 
proves  a  falsehood,  proves  nothing  at  all.  This  is 
certainly  the  case  with  the  argument  of  our  oppo- 
nents. It  proves  what  is  false  in  proving  that  Christ 
is  not  the  Son  of  God,  because  men  are  called  the 
sons  of  God.  Or  if  it  be  said  that  it  only  proves 
that  Christ  and  men  are  gods  in  the  same  sense — that 
is,  inferior  gods,  or  gods  by  office — it  will  still  prove 
that  they  are  all  "sons"  in  the  same  sense,  and  con- 
tradict the  passages  that  call  Christ  "the  only-begot- 
ten Son."  View  it  as  you  will,  it  proves  too  much, 
and  therefore  proves  nothing. 

My  next  proof-text  is  1  Timothy  iii,  16:  "And 
without  controversy,  great  is  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness :  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the 
Spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached  unto  the  Gentiles, 
believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  glory." 
There  being  but  the  one  nominative  expressed  or 
implied,  the  plain  grammatical  construction  of  the 
passage  is,  "  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh,  God  was 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  203 

justified  in  the  Spirit,  God  was  seen  of  angels,  God 
was  preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  God  was  believed  on 
in  the  world,  God  was  received  up  into  glory."  This 
was  all  in  the  person  of  Christ — the  Word  which  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us. 

I  present  one  more  proof-text:  "For  by  him  were 
all  things  created  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in 
earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones, 
or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers;  all  things 
were  created  by  him,  and  for  him :  and  he  is  before 
all  things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist."  Col.  i,  16, 
17.  Our  opponents  try  to  break  the  force  of  this 
and  other  texts  of  like  character,  by  asserting  that 
Christ  created  all  things  by  delegated  power;  that 
God  made  him  an  instrument  in  this  great  work. 
But  this  is  false.  If  Christ  had  created  all  things  by 
delegated  power,  he  would  have  created  them  for  him 
from  whom  he  received  the  'power;  but  the  text  says 
"  all  things  were  created  by  him,  and  for  him  /"  He 
is,  therefore,  the  absolute  proprietor  of  the  creation. 
Isaiah — xliv,  4 — bears  witness  against  the  idea  of  cre- 
ation by  delegated  power :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  thy 
Redeemer,  and  he  that  formed  thee  from  the  womb,  I 
am  the  Lord  that  maketh  all  things ;  that  stretcheth 
forth  the  heavens  alone;  that  spreadeth  abroad  the 
earth  by  myself."  This  was  Christ.  He  is  the  Lord 
of  hosts,  the  Redeemer  of  Israel,  beside  whom  there 
is  no  God  or  Savior.  He  created  the  heavens  alone; 
he  spread  abroad  the  earth  by  himself!  He  employed 
neither  agent  nor  instrument.    "For  he  spake,  and 


204  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

it  was  done;  he  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast."  He 
is  before  all  things,  he  created  all  things,  he  upholds 
all  things,  and  all  things  were  made  by  him  alone, 
and  for  him  alone.  This  includes  all  things  visible 
and  invisible;  all  thrones,  dominions,  principalities, 
and  powers,  whether  they  be  visible  or  invisible  ;  and 
if  there  can  be  any  thing  found  throughout  the  lim- 
itless empire  of  matter  and  mind,  which  he  did  not 
make,  or  which  existed  before  him,  then  he  is  not 
God,  and  this  text  is  not  true !  But,  till  that  some- 
thing be  found,  we  will  maintain  that  our  adorable 
Christ  is  he  who  "stretched  out  the  heavens  over 
the  north,  and  hung  the  earth  upon  nothing."  "  As 
for  our  Redeemer,  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name." 
Whatever  others  may  say,  or  in  whomsoever  others 
may  trust,  I  want  no  Redeemer  beside. 

I  now  close  the  argument,  believing  I  have  made  it 
plain  to  you,  that  the  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament 
and  Jesus  Christ  of  the  New  Testament,  are  the  same 
identical  being,  the  one  true  and  living  God.  I  have 
given  you  plain  Scripture  compared  with  Scripture, 
all  bearing  directly  on  the  point.  I  have  given  you 
Scripture  without  garbling  or  torturing,  and  if  you 
are  not  satisfied,  you  would  not  be  satisfied  if  I  had 
quoted  many  more  passages — which  might  have  been 
done  if  time  would  have  permitted — and  now  I  leave 
the  subject  with  you.  But  remember  this  distinctly, 
that  if  you  controvert  the  subject,  your  controversy 
is  not  with  me,  but  with  the  Bible;  if  you  gainsay 
the   doctrine,  you   gainsay  the   Bible;    and   if   you 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  205 

refute  the  doctrine,  you  refute  the  Bible.  I  shut 
you  up  to  this  faith,  and  pray  God  to  guide  you  by 
his  Spirit  into  all  truth.  And  I  charge  you  to  keep 
this  blessed  doctrine  without  spot,  "  unrebukable,  till 
the  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  which  in  his 
times  he  shall  show  who  is  the  blessed  and  only  Po- 
tentate, the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords;  who 
only  hath  immortality,  dwelling  in  light  unapproacha- 
ble, whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can  see;  to  whom 
be  honor  and  power  everlasting.     Amen." 

Prior  to  the  delivery  of  this  discourse,  Mr.  S 

had  crowded  audiences;  he  was  looked  up  to,  by 
many,  as  an  oracle,  and  began  to  wield  a  mighty 
influence ;  but  his  next  appointment  came  one 
week  after  the  vindication  of  our  doctrine,  when  he- 
preached  to  twelve  or  fifteen  persons,  and  made  no 
more  appointments  in  our  place.  Gentlemen  in  the 
place  expressed  themselves  astonished  that  they  had 
permitted  themselves  to  be  duped  by  the  sophistical 
arts  of  this  man,  in  relation  to  so  plain  and  Scriptural 
a  doctrine.  He  was  now  vanquished,  not  by  supe- 
rior intellectual  prowess,  rhetorical  niceties,  or  dex- 
terity in  logic,  but  by  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  the 
plain  word  of  God. 

I  should  have  mentioned,  as  connected  with  my 
first  year,  on  this  circuit,  that,  in  making  pastoral 
visits,  I  was  not  confined  to  the  membership,  but 
called  at  the  houses  of  the  irreligious.  In  visiting  a 
certain  family  of  this  description,  I  found  the  man 
gentlemanly  and  kind,  conversed  with  him  about  the 


206  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

interest  of  his  soul,  and  he  listened  attentively.  Then 
I  turned  to  his  wife,  and  asked  her  if  she  had  expe- 
rienced religion.  She  was  much  offended,  and  used 
language  which  I  will  not  repeat ;  but,  while  ven- 
geance gleamed  from  her  keen,  black  eye,  I  pressed 
upon  her  attention  the  things  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
After  this,  I  obtained  the  privilege,  and  prayed  with 
them,  and  went  on  my  way,  trusting  in  God.  Subse- 
quently, our  quarterly  meeting  was  held  in  that 
neighborhood,  and  the  presiding  elder  leaving  on 
Saturday,  devolved  the  duty  on  me  to  preach  on  Sab- 
bath, at  11  o'clock.  In  those  days,  this  was  no  small 
responsibility ;  but,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  I  lifted 
up  my  voice,  claiming  the  promise  of  him  who  said, 
"Lo!  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world."  In  the  afternoon  we  had  prayer  meeting, 
when  I  delivered  an  exhortation,  and  invited  peni- 
tents to  the  altar  for  prayers.  To  the  astonishment 
of,  perhaps,  all  in  the  house,  this  woman  who  had 
given  me  to  understand  that  she  did  not  thank  me  for 
my  religious  visits,  rose  up  in  the  congregation, 
rushed  forward,  and  cried  aloud  for  mercy.  Thank 
God  !  her  cry  was  not  unavailing.  She  found  peace 
and  joy  in  believing,  and  with  her  husband  and 
several  others,  she  united  with  the  Church,  and 
became  a  faithful  Christian.  This  encouraged  me  to 
follow  the  divine  direction:  "Sow  thy  seed  in  the 
morning,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thy  hand ; 
for  thou  knowest  not  which  shall  prosper,  whether 
this  or  that,  or   whether   they    shall   be   both    alike 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  207 

good."  We  are  never  to  be  weary  in  well-doing,  for, 
in  due  season,  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not. 

This  year,  I  made  a  new  appointment  at  the  glass- 
works— a  fearfully  wicked  place.  At  first,  there  were 
many  skeptics,  and  I  felt  much  embarrassment  in 
preaching  to  them.  I  had  to  preach  in  the  morning, 
and  meet  a  society  of  forty  to  sixty  members,  ride 
three  miles  and  preach,  meet  class,  and  ride  seven 
miles  over  the  sand-plains,  to  preach  here  at  six  in 
the  evening.  At,  perhaps,  my  third  visit,  my  mental 
sky  cleared,  my  soul  warmed  into  a  flame  of  love,  the 
embarrassment  was  gone,  and  my  tongue  made  like 
the  pen  of  a  ready  writer.  I  became  exceedingly 
happy,  and  a  deep,  solemn  feeling  pervaded  the  audi- 
ence. Ever  afterward,  I  took  pleasure  in  preaching 
at  the  glass-works,  and  may  say,  with  humility,  that, 
under  God's  blessing,  my  labors  at  that  place  were 
made  instrumental  in  laying  the  foundation  for  a  good 
society. 

At  one  of  my  preaching-places  a  Rev.  gentleman 
came,  crying,  "  Water,  water !"  He  would  feign  have 
people  think  they  must  not  only  go  into  the  water, 
but  be  covered  all  over  with  it,  or  they  could  not 
enter  the  kingdom;  and  some  partly  believed  his 
preaching.  He  was  about  to  baptize  some,  and  was 
wading  about  in  the  water,  pouring  out  anathemas 
upon  all  who  would  presume  to  baptize  otherwise  than 
by  immersion ;  when,  becoming  exceedingly  zealous, 
he  cried  out,  " I  glory  in  the  water!"  Thereupon, 
an  old   lady  upon   the   shore   exclaimed,    "I   would 


208  RECOLLECTIONS      OF 

much  rather  you  would  glory  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ !"  A  good  rebuke.  Whenever  men  be- 
come so  absorbed  with  the  idea  of  water  salvation, 
they  are  in  danger  of  neglecting  the  "blood  of 
sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things  than  that 
of  Abel."  I  would  commend  to  all  such  the  words 
of  Peter,  "  Baptism  is  not  the  putting  away  of  the 
filthiness  of  the  flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good  con- 
science toward  God. 

At  another  point  in  this  circuit  was  the  strongest 
preacher  of  Calvinism  I  have  ever  known,  the  Rev. 

Mr.  W .     He  used  language  which  showed  him 

to  be  a  genuine  Calvinist — one  of  the  pure  stock.  I 
will  give  a  few  of  his  remarks.  Said  he,  "  There  are 
but  eleven  elect  in  this  township ;  I  am  not  sure  that 
there  are  that  number,  though  I  think  there  are ;  but 
I  am  certain  that  there  are  nine,  and  I  know  that  I 
am  one  of  them."     Again,  he  said,  "  You  have  heard 

that  old  W has  said  there  are  infants  in  hell  not 

a  span  long,  and  you  said    you   did  not  believe   old 

"W ever  said  so.    Now  I  tell  you  there  are  infants 

in  hell,  not  a  span  long,  and  all  reprobate  infants, 
born  or  unborn,  are  damned!"  The  reader  will 
agree  that  Mr.  W was  one  of  the  real  blue-stock- 
ing sort.  He  held  up  the  monster  to  the  gaze  of  all, 
without  covering.  I  commend  his  honesty,  but  envy 
not  the  heart  that  received  such  "  horrible  decrees" 
as  the  Gospel  of  grace — the  glad  tidings  preached  to 
all  people! 

Mr.  W 's  calculation  that  there  were  nine  or 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  209 

eleven  elect  in  the  township,  reminds  me  of  an  anec- 
dote related  to  me,  over  forty  years  ago,  of  an  officer 
in  the  Revolutionary  army.  He  was  riding  through 
one  of  the  New  England  towns  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
when  the  "tithing-man,"  accosted  him  with  the  infor- 
mation that  he  must  or  ought  not  to  travel  on  the 
Sabbath  day.  "What  shall  I  do,  sir?"  said  the  offi- 
cer. "Go  to  meeting,"  said  the  tithing-man.  Said  the 
officer,  "  Meeting  !  where  is  meeting?"  "  Up  there," 
pointing  to  the  church,  said  the  tithing-man.  The 
officer  put  up  his  horse  at  the  tavern,  and  went  to 
church.  As  he  went  stamping  in,  the  pew-doors  flew 
open  in  every  direction,  but  he  fixed  his  eye  upon 
the  speaker,  and  walked  half  way  to  the  pulpit  before 
he  sat  down.  The  minister  was  deeply  absorbed  in 
his  subject — giving  the  opinions  of  different  men  in 
regard  to  the  number  that  would  be  saved.  It  was 
the  opinion  of  some  that  one  out  of  fifty  would  be 
saved,  others  thought  it  would  be  only  one  out  of  a 
hundred;  "but,"  said  he,  "I  give  it  as  my  opinion, 
that  not  more  than  one  out  of  five  hundred  will  be 
saved  !"  At  this  the  officer  sprang  to  his  feet,  and 
said,  "  Well,  gentlemen,  you  may  have  my  chance 
for  nothing  !"  and  put  on  his  cocked  hat,  and  walked 
out  of  the  house.  Now  it  was  perhaps  wrong  in  the 
officer  to  travel  on  the  Sabbath,  and  wrong  to  disturb 
the  congregation  by  speaking  and  going  out ;  but  it 
was  also  wrong  in  the  preacher  to  be  calculating  the 
number  of  the  elect.     Had   he  been  preaching   the 

unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,  from  a  full  heart,  the 
18 


210  RECOLLECTIONS     OE 

warm,  generous,  impulsive  heart  of  the  rough  old 
officer  might  have  been  touched,  and  his  soul  humbled 
at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  Eut  the  cold,  repulsive 
propositions  of  high-toned  Calvinism  will  always  dis- 
gust, and  never  attract  such  unsophisticated  spirits 
as  that  old  Revolutionary  officer.  Thank  God  that 
my  feet  were  disentangled  from  the  meshes  of  this 
heart-chilling  system,  in  the  days  of  my  youth  !  I 
then  learned  that  he  who  sendeth  rain  upon  the  just 
and  the  unjust,  whose  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his 
works,  who  feedeth  the  young  ravens  when  they  cry 
unto  him,  and  supplieth  the  want  of  every  living 
thing,  hath  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  any,  but  pro- 
vided amply  in  the  death  of  his  only-begotten  Son 
for  the  salvation  of  every  child  of  man.  Then,  also,  I 
learned  that  men  perish  not  for  Adam's  fault,  but 
only  for  rejecting  or  neglecting  the  great  salvation 
provided  in  Jesus  Christ. 

When  my  second  year  on  this  circuit  wound  to  a 
close,  I  was  constrained  to  call  it  a  very  happy  year. 
We  had  revival  influence  in  our  bounds  all  the  year 
round,  and  many  souls  were  happily  converted  to 
God.  Halleluiah  to  God!  I  delight  to  think  of 
those  days.  They  were  days  of  labor  and  toil, 
but  also  of  great  peace  and  joy.  I  left  many  dear 
friends  on  Bern  circuit,  never  to  see  them  more  on 
earth,  but  with  a  good  hope  through  grace  of  meet- 
ing them  in  heaven,  where 

K  Sickness  and  sorrow,  pain  and  death, 
Are  felt  and  fear'd  no  more." 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  211 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

KINGSTON  CIRCUIT— TWO  YEARS. 

In  May,  1824,  we  had  a  harmonious  session  of 
conference,  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Some  time 
previous  to  this,  the  presiding  elder  of  the  district 
adjoining  that  in  which  my  work  was,  the  Rev.  D.  Os- 
trander,  called  at  my  house  and  gave  intimation  that 
he  wanted  me  on  the  circuit  next  below  where  I  then 

was.    The  Rev.  S had  a  congregation  there,  and 

many  of  the  people  were  falling  in  with  his  notions, 
and,  having  been  successful  in  arresting  the  progress 
of  his  mischievous  sentiments  where  I  lived  the  pre- 
vious year,  it  was  thought  I  might  be  useful  in  that 
work.  I  told  him  I  had  no  objection  to  the  arrange- 
ment, and  we  parted ;  but,  at  the  close  of  this  con- 
ference, I  was  unexpectedly  sent  to  Kingston  circuit. 
This  appointment,  though  contrary  to  my  expecta- 
tion, was  entirely  satisfactory  to  me. 

Kingston  was  a  very  pleasant  town  of  considera- 
ble size.  It  had  been  burned  down  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  but  was  rebuilt^  mostly  of  stone ;  it  was, 
however,  rather  a  hard  place  for  Methodism.  In  an 
early  day,  some  of  our  pioneer  preachers  formed  a 
class  near  town,  but  the  members  were  severely  per- 
secuted, the  house  in  which  they  met  was  stoned,  the 


212  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

windows  broken  in,  and  finally  the  place  was  aban- 
doned, and  left  without  Methodist  preaching  till 
within  two  or  three  years  of  my  appointment  to  the 
circuit.  John  D.  Moriarty  had  been  enabled  then 
to  establish  an  appointment  in  the  place,  and  a  few 
Methodists  that  lived  in  the  town  and  vicinity,  deter- 
mined to  build  a  house  for  God.  It  was  mostly  done 
by  three  men — brothers  O'Neal,  Hitt,  and  Jacobus — 
was  not  large,  but  neat  and  well  finished.  Brother 
John  Kennedy  was  my  colleague.  This  was  his 
second  year  in  the  ministry,  and  his  second  year  on 
this  circuit.  He  was  quite  a  promising  young  man ; 
but  I  need  not  speak  further  of  him,  as  he  is  now 
extensively  known  as  Dr.  Kennedy,  and  was  an 
active  member  of  the  General  conference  which 
recently  sat  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  We  labored 
together  harmoniously,  both  living  in  Kingston,  and 
preached  there  twice  on  every  other  Sabbath.  We 
were  looked  upon  as  miserable  heretics  in  doctrine, 
and  every  effort  was  made  to  prevent  the  people 
from  hearing  us  preach ;  but,  at  night  especially, 
they  would  come  out  to  hear  for  themselves.  In  this 
way  our  doctrines  and  usages  became  better  under- 
stood, prejudices  gave  way,  and  we  were  listened  to 
with  patience  and  attention.  The  settled  minister 
was  a  rigid  Calvinist,  and  frequently  lectured  his 
people  against  countenancing  us  with  their  presence 
in  our  meetings.  One  day  he  had  a  minister  from 
Long  Island  to  fill  his  pulpit,  and,  having  no  after- 
noon appointment,  I  went  to  his  church.    He  preached 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  213 

a  doctrinal  sermon,  laboring  to  establish  the  idea  of 
a  limited  atonement.  He  maintained  that  Christ  died 
not  for  the  world,  but  for  God's  "dear  children" — 
said  this  was  more  comforting  than  Arminianism,  etc. 
That  night  I  preached  in  our  church,  and  had  a  large 
number  of  the  same  hearers.  I  took  opposite  ground, 
and  dwelt  on  the  universality  of  the  atonement.  I 
expressed  astonishment  that  men  could  have  hardi- 
hood enough  to  stand  up  and  assert,  in  direct  con- 
tradiction to  the  holy  Scriptures,  that  Christ  died 
not  for  the  whole  world,  but  for  God's  children  only. 
Then,  drawing  out  the  Scripture  argument  at  length, 
I  told  the  people  I  should  believe  the  Bible  on  this 
subject,  in  preference  to  the  say-so  of  five  hundred 
of  those  men  fresh  from  Andover  College.  This 
effort  had  the  desired  effect.  The  plain  word  of  God 
impressed  many  hearts,  and,  under  the  all-command- 
ing motives  of  the  sublime  doctrine  that  Jesus  Christ, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  tasted  death  for  every  man, 
quite  a  number  were  led  to  the  cross,  happily  con- 
verted, and  united  with  the  Church  under  our  care. 

We  found,  in  this  work,  quite  a  number  of  old- 
fashioned  Methodists.  These  were  noble  spirits,  who 
served  God  from  principle,  and  labored  to  sustain  the 
cause  of  God,  by  supporting  the  ministry,  and  in 
every  way  contributing  to  the  advancement  of  relig- 
ion in  their  midst.  In  Marbletown,  we  had  a  small 
house,  small  congregation,  and  small  society,  but 
strong  opposition.  People  seemed  to  think  they  had 
a  right  to  do  as  they  pleased  when  they  attended  our 


214  KECOLLECTIONS    OF 

services.  For  example :  A  young  man  came  into  the 
church  one  Sabbath,  laid  down  flat  on  his  back,  threw 
his  feet  over  the  bench,  and  lay  there  grinning,  gap- 
ing, and  showing  his  teeth,  as  if  he  were  teaching 
grinning  school,  and  considered  himself  a  perfect 
model  for  the  imitation  of  his  pupils.  After  he  had 
exhibited  in  this  way  for  some  time,  I  paused,  and 
then  remarked  in  substance  as  follows:  "If  that 
young  man  is  sick,  I  would  thank  some  of  those 
young  men  near  him  to  help  him  out  and  to  assist 
him  home ;  he  may  need  a  physician,  for  he  seems  to 
be  in  great  distress."  The  remarks  had  some  effect 
in  improving  his  manners,  and  in  restraining  the  im- 
pudence of  others.  "It  takes  all  sorts  of  people  to 
make  every  body,"  says  some  one;  but  what  every 
body  are  fit  for  is,  perhaps,  very  difficult  to  tell.  At 
all  events,  many  act  as  though  they  were  fit  for  noth- 
ing else,  and  had  no  higher  aim  in  life  than  to  annoy 
those  who  try  to  do  better  than  themselves. 

In  this  circuit,  also,  I  found  some  Baptist  brethren 
who  were  exceedingly  zealous  for  having  the  water 
applied  in  the  right  form,  in  the  act  of  baptism. 
While  engaged  in  pastoral  visiting,  I  fell  in  company 
with  one  who  introduced  this  subject.  I  informed 
him  that  I  came  there  to  preach  the  Gospel,  that  I 
sought  no  controversy,  but  should  always  vindicate 
the  usages  of  my  Church  when  they  were  assailed. 
"Well,"  said  he,  "if  we  follow  the  example  of  our 
Savior,  we  know  we  are  right;  and  if  we  do  not,  we 
know  we  are  wrong."      "Well,   Christ  was  circum- 


A    SUPEKANNUATE.  215 

cised,"  said  I,  "and  you  do  not  follow  his  example; 
therefore,  you  know  you  are  wrong."  "Ah,"  said 
he,  "that  was  not  Christ's  own  act — it  was  done  for 
him  when  he  was  a  child."  "Then  I  will  give  you 
another,"  said  I.  "Christ  continued  all  night  in 
prayer;  you  do  not  follow  his  example,  and,  there- 
fore, you  know  you  are  in  the  wrong."  And  here  is 
another :  "  Christ  kept  the  Jewish  Sabbath  all  his  life ; 
you  do  not  follow  his  example,  and  you  are,  there- 
fore, wrong."  Again :  "  When  Christ  ate  the  Passover 
and  instituted  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  he 
did  it  in  the  night,  in  an  upper  room;  and  if  you 
follow  his  example,  you  must  take  that  sacrament  in 
the  night,  in  an  upper  room;  but  you  do  not  do  it, 
therefore,  you  know  you  are  wrong."  He  was  led  to 
discover  that  all  the  forms  and  incidental  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  original  administration  of 
the  Christian  ordinances,  are  not  essential  to  the  va- 
lidity of  the  ordinances  themselves.  We  had  no  fur- 
ther disputing  on  the  subject.  He  was  a  kind,  pious, 
and  generally  well-informed  man,  but  inclined  to  put 
a  little  too  much  dependence  in  the  water.  His  oldest 
daughter  attended  our  meetings,  was  awakened,  con- 
verted, joined  the  Methodist  Church,  and  continued  a 
faithful  Christian  as  long  as  I  knew  her. 

We  had  some  precious  seasons  on  the  circuit,  and 
witnessed  the  conversion  of  a  goodly  number  of  souls. 
As  the  year  drew  to  a  close,  I  commenced  making 
new  class-books,  setting  aside  such  as  were  delinquent 
and  could  not  be  reclaimed,  and  admitting  such  as 


216  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

had  stood  out  acceptably  their  term  of  probation. 
This  I  deem  important,  that  at  the  close  of  each  year 
such  disciplinary  work  as  this  should  all  be  done  up 
clean  and  fair,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  do  it.  I 
found  myself  much  attached  to  this  people,  and 
wound  up  the  year  pleasantly,  it  having  been  a  year 
of  reasonable  prosperity  in  the  Church,  and  took  my 
leave  only  for  a  short  time,  fully  expecting  to  return 
the  second  time,  as  I  had  always  done,  excepting  the 
first  year,  when  I  was  stationed  upon  the  Island,  and 
wished  to  leave  at  the  end  of  the  first  year. 

I  was  not  disappointed  in  my  expectations.  At  the 
close  of  the  conference  of  May,  1825,  held  in  Troy, 
N.  Y.,  I  was  returned  to  Kingston,  with  F.  W.  Smith 
for  my  colleague.  He  was  a  young  man  of  some 
standing  in  the  conference,  of  good  mind,  well  dis- 
posed, but  possessed  of  a  good  deal  of  vivacity,  which 
sometimes  betrayed  him  into  lightness  of  conversa- 
tion. But  thirty  years  of  toil  have  doubtless  put  the 
"curb-bit"  upon  the  sprightliness  of  his  temper;  and 
if  this  little  volume  should  fall  into  his  hands,  he  will 
read  and  smile  at  the  remembrance  of  days  long  since 
past.  I  have  no  fear  that  he  will  take  offense  at  these 
remarks.  I  knew  him  well,  and  feel  satisfied  that  he 
now  views  the  matter  of  which  I  speak  in  the  same 
light  here  presented.  God  grant  that  we  may  meet 
in  heaven !  We  labored  together  like  brethren,  in 
perfect  concord,  throughout  the  year.  Since  then  he 
has  filled  some  important  stations  in  the  Church. 

This  year,  I  rented  a  house  and  moved  my  family 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  217 

to  Saugerties,  twelve  miles  from  Kingston.  Here, 
near  the  mouth  of  Esop's  creek,  were  falls,  which 
afforded  excellent  water-power  privileges  for  mills 
and  machinery.  A  company  from  New  York  city 
made  an  extensive  purchase,  commenced  business  on 
a  large  scale,  employing  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
hands,  and  paying  good  wages.  Two  of  my  sons 
engaged  more  or  less  of  their  time  with  this  com- 
pany, and  my  house  was  filled  with  boarders  ;  this 
necessarily  increased  my  care,  but  never  hindered 
me  from  my  prayers  at  home,  nor  from  my  duties 
on  the  circuit.  My  wife's  parents  had  moved  to 
Ohio  about  fourteen  years  previous  to  this,  and  they 
often  wrote,  urging  us  to  come  out  and  live  and 
die  near  to  them.  They  wrote  in  glowing  terms  of 
the  advantages  that  men  with  growing  families  might 
derive  by  coming  to  this  state ;  and  inasmuch  as 
my  family  was  growing,  my  own  health  considerably 
impaired,  and  my  private  means  nearly  all  spent,  I 
felt,  after  weighing  the  matter  in  all  its  bearings, 
that  it  was  my  indispensable  duty  to  make  an  effort 
for  providing  better  for  my  family  than  I  could 
possibly  do  in  the  bounds  of  the  New  York  con- 
ference ;  and,  feeling  thus,  I  saw  no  alternative  but 
removal  to  the  state  of  Ohio.  I  think  I  never  pos- 
sessed a  whining  disposition — but  I  must  tell  the 
reader  that  much  of  the  time,  while  traveling  in 
that  conference,  I  was  so  pressed  for  means  of 
support   as    scarcely   to    know  which  way   to   turn; 

I  wore  patched  clothing,  and  rode  many  a  day  with- 
19 


218  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

out  dinner,  because  my  family  had  need  of  every 
cent  I  could  save.  While  on  this  subject,  I  will  say 
that  I  have  passed  through  scenes  of  suffering  from 
filth,  insects,  open  cabins,  swamps,  swimming  creeks, 
insults,  etc.,  enough  to  fill  a  volume  ;  but  this  is  not 
my  object.  I  count  not  the  sufferings  of  this  life 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  that  shall  be 
revealed  in  us,  or  even  with  what  God  has  permitted 
me  to  enjoy  all  along  the  pathway  in  which  his 
providence  hath  led  me.  While  I  write,  my  heart 
rises  up  in  thankfulness  to  Him  for  his  great  good- 
ness, and  his  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of  men* 
I  feel  like  laying  down  my  pen  and  shouting  his 
high  praises  !  Glory  to  God  and  the  Lamb  forever  ! 
But,  notwithstanding  my  resolution  to  emigrate  to 
the  state  of  Ohio,  with  a  view  to  improving  the  con- 
dition of  my  family,  my  heart  was  as  fully  as  ever 
in  the  work  in  which  I  had  been  engaged  for  seven- 
teen years. 

In  regard  to  the  work  on  the  circuit,  I  will  say 
that  we  enjoyed  peace  and  harmony  in  our  borders 
through  all  the  year,  and  we  had  some  good 
revivals  of  religion.  We  had  two  glass-works 
appointments  on  this  circuit.  In  order  to  reach 
one  of  these,  we  had  to  ascend  a  mountain  for  about 
three  miles,  and  when  we  were  there  the  land  seem- 
ingly stood  up  edgewise.  There  was  a  large  society 
here,  but  the  members  were  poor,  very  poor,  as 
regards  this  world's  good  ;  yet,  many  of  them  were 
rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  a  kingdom.      They  were 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  219 

truly  pious,  and  always  glad  to  see  the  preacher, 
and  make  him  as  comfortable  as  they  were  able. 
But  their  good  will  and  warm  hearts  would  not 
screen  him  from  the  piercing  wind  and  biting  cold. 
Often  did  my  back,  limbs,  and  toes  ache  with 
cold,  beneath  their  friendly  roofs.  I  said  to  one, 
"  Brother,  why  do  you  stay  here  upon  the  mountain, 
where  the  land  stands  edgewise,  and  the  rocks  cover 
the  surface  ?"  Said  he,  "  We  are  too  poor  to  get 
away."  He  actually  believed  he  was,  and  I  told 
him  he  always  would  be  as  poor,  if  he  remained 
there,  and  that  I  believed  it  was  intruding  on  the 
wolves  and  bears  to  occupy  such  places — that  God 
never  designed  them  for  human  habitations,  for  he 
had  spread  out  rich,  fertile  plains  and  valleys  suffi- 
cient for  the  wants  of  the  race  ;  and  that  I,  for  one, 
intended  to  go  to  the  wide  west,  the  coming  year, 
the  Lord  willing.  It  does  seem  that  some  men  are 
almost  afraid  to  venture  beyond  sight  of  the  smoke 
of  the  cabin  in  which  they  were  born,  and,  to  the 
permanent  injury  of  their  families,  cleave  to  the 
knobs  and  hill-sides  of  their  nativity,  when  they 
might,  with  a  little  industrious  effort,  establish  them- 
selves in  independent  circumstances  upon  some  of 
the  broad  fields  which  yet  lie  in  a  state  of  nature. 

Although  we  preached  at  this  place  on  week- 
day, we  had  a  good-sized  congregation  of  attentive 
hearers.  Poverty  did  not  prevent  the  people  from 
loving  and  enjoying  the  means  of  grace.  "  The  poor 
have  the    Gospel  preached  to  them  ;"  and   I  doubt 


220  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

not  that  many  from  these  hill-sides  and  mountain 
peaks,  will  ascend  to  heaven,  while  rich,  ungodly 
sinners,  from  their  costly  mansions  and  splendid 
farms,  will  sink  down  to  the  gulf  of  perdition.  Dear 
reader,  think  of  this — think  how  terrible  it  is  to 
exchange  the  luxuries  of  life  for  the  quenchless  fire 
and  the  undying  worm !  I  pray  God  to  send  his 
Holy  Spirit  to  thy  heart,  this  moment!  Thou  art 
my  brother,  my  sister,  redeemed  by  my  Savior's 
blood,  and  I  desire  to  see  thee  saved  high  up  in 
heaven  !  I  will  be  clear  of  thy  blood !  I  once  more 
pray  God  to  have  mercy  on  thy  never-dying  soul ! 

As  the  time  of  my  departure  from  this  field  drew 
near,  I  found  myself  more  and  more  attached  to 
this  people.  Many  of  them  were  strong  in  the  Lord 
and  in  the  power  of  his  might.  More  than  thirty 
years  have  passed  since  I  gave  them  the  parting 
hand,  yet  I  still  have  them  in  my  heart.  Through 
the  grace  of  God,  I  hope  to  meet  them  on  the  other 
side  of  Jordan's  stream.  Some  of  them  have  gone 
on  before,  and  while  I  sing — 

"On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand, 

And  cast  a  wishful  eye, 
To  Canaan's  fair  and  happy  land, 
Where  my  possessions  lie," 

I  fancy  their  response  comes  wafted  by  the  gales 
of  Paradise — 

"All  o'er  these  wide- extended  plains, 

Shines  one  eternal  day; 
Here  God,  the  Son,  forever  reigns, 
And  scatters  night  away." 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  221 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

MOVE  WEST— LOCATE— EMPLOYED  BY  THE  ELDER. 

In  May,  1826,  the  session  of  the  New  York  con- 
ference was  held  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Having 
made  up  my  mind  to  move  west,  and  having  been 
cordially  invited  by  friends  in  the  city,  to  bring  my 
wife  with  me  to  conference,  I  concluded  to  do  so,  as 
this  would,  in  all  probability,  be  her  last  opportunity 
of  visiting  that  city.  We  were  kindly  entertained  at 
the  house  of  brother  Palmer,  who,  with  his  amiable 
family,  took  delight  in  entertaining  the  servants  of 
Christ  on  such  occasions.  Brother  P.  was  blessed 
with  an  abundance  of  this  world's  goods,  and  placed 
a  horse,  carriage,  and  driver,  at  our  disposal,  every 
day  of  our  sojourn  in  the  city.  This  arrangement 
was  very  agreeable  to  Mrs.  Lewis,  as  she  had  never 
before  been  in  the  city,  and  was  thereby  enabled  to 
visit  all  the  places  of  interest,  and  form  some  tolera- 
ble idea  of  the  extent  and  situation  of  this  great 
emporium. 

I  attended  this  session  with  intense  interest,  as  it 
was  the  last  time  I  expected  to  meet  with  the  New 
York  conference.  The  thought  of  leaving  the  hon- 
ored fathers,  who  had  instructed  me  in  the  great  prin- 


222  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

ciples  of  Christianity,  and  the  younger  brethren,  with 
whom  I  had  been  associated,  in  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, perhaps  no  more  to  meet  on  earth,  together 
•with  the  consideration  that  I  was  about  to  take  a  step 
which  would,  probably,  result  in  dissolving  my  rela- 
tion to  the  Church,  as  a  traveling  preacher,  excited, 
in  my  mind,  reflections  of  a  thrilling  character.  Bat  I 
saw  no  alternative.  The  decisive  step  must  be  taken. 
My  family  had  been  laboring  for  months,  in  keeping 
boarders,  teaching  school,  hauling  lumber,  and  blast- 
ing rocks,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  means  to  carry 
us  to  Ohio,  and  I  felt,  that,  as  the  best  of  my  life  had 
been  given  to  the  Church,  my  health  was  declining, 
and  the  Church  was  failing  to  give  a  sufficient  com- 
pensation to  meet  the  wants  of  my  growing  family,  it 
was  now  my  imperative  duty  to  turn  my  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  rich  soil  of  the  west.  I  had 
been  bred  to  farming,  regarded  it  as  a  healthful  and 
honorable  employment,  and  was  rather  pleased  with 
the  idea  of  digging  my  support  out  of  the  earth. 
Hence,  when  my  character  came  under  examination, 
I  arose  and  stated,  my  purpose  to  the  conference,  and 
was  immediately  granted  a  supernumerary  relation, 
with  liberty  to  carry  out  my  intention  of  moving  to 
Ohio.  I  also  received  a  certificate  of  this  action  of 
the  conference,  signed  by  Bishop  George,  the  pre- 
siding officer.  I  have,  before,  spoken  of  Bishop 
George,  as  a  favorite  preacher.  He  was  a  man  of 
strong,  discriminating  mind,  a  good  presiding  officer, 
an  amiable  companion,  and  a  deeply-pious  Christian. 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  223 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  rooming  with  him  during  one 
or  two  conference  sessions,  and  was  not  only  inter- 
ested, but  highly  delighted  with  him.  I  also  attended 
a  camp  meeting  in  company  with  him,  and  found  him 
a  warm-hearted,  diligent  laborer  in  his  Master's  vine- 
yard. I  saw  him  frequently  down  upon  his  knees, 
encouraging  the  mourners,  and  pointing  them  to  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
While  others  were  praying,  he  would  often  respond, 
Amen,  with  much  emphasis ;  and,  sometimes  he 
would  lift  up  his  clear,  melodious  voice,  crying  out, 
"0,  for  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost!"  And, 
when  he  prayed,  it  was  evident  that  his  prayer  en- 
tered the  ear  of  the  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth,  for  answers 
were  so  manifest,  that  the  most  skeptical  were  made 
to  tremble.  His  great  power  in  the  pulpit  has  been 
attributed,  by  some,  to  his  deep  feeling,  and  strong 
sympathy.  This  was  not  the  only  source  of  his  power ; 
he  possessed  the  elements  of  genuine  oratory — a  voice 
of  fine  compass  and  variety,  a  clear,  well-cultivated 
mind,  and  a  wonderful  knowledge  of  the  human  pas- 
sions. Added  to  all  this,  was  his  love  for  the  souls 
of  men,  his  fervency  of  spirit,  and  the  unction  of  the 
Holy  One.  I  could  say  much  more,  but  will  not  in- 
dulge. My  feelings  of  respect,  for  the  memory  of 
this  devoted  servant  of  Christ,  whose  praise  should  be 
in  all  the  Churches,  would  not  permit  me  to  say  less. 
I  talked  with  the  Bishop  in  regard  to  the  country 
to  which  I  was  about  to  move.  He  told  me  there  was 
abundance   of  mud,  and   few  improvements;  "but," 


224  RECOLLECTIONS     OP 

said  he,  "if  a  man  have  plenty  of  boys  to  work,  he 
may  do  well,  and  it  is  a  fine  country  for  Methodists  /" 
This  was  what  I  wanted  to  hear  ;  I  was  only  about 
forty  years  of  age — had  not  forgotten  how  to  work — 
had  some  boys,  and  expected  to  contend,  in  common 
with  others,  with  the  difficulties  peculiar  to  a  newly- 
settled  country.  I  took  leave  of  the  conference,  went 
home,  and  commenced  preparations  for  the  journey. 
I  had  to  visit,  and  bid  farewell  to  my  aged  father, 
and  other  relatives  and  friends,  where  I  was  reared. 
This  duty  was  to  me  a  severe  trial.  Here  were  the 
hills  over  which  my  youthful  feet  had  rambled,  the 
companions  of  my  childhood,  my  youth,  and  of  my 
riper  years,  with  whom  I  had  mingled  in  friendly 
intercourse,  all  my  life ;  the  old  school-house,  in 
which  I  had  been  taught,  and  to  which  I  had  so 
often  run  an  entire  mile,  after  doing  the  chores  of 
the  morning,  lest  I  should  lose  a  lesson;  and  here, 
too,  were  the  numerous  disciples  of  Christ,  whose 
acquaintance  I  had  made  as  a  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel— all  these  were  now  to  be  left,  with  the  numerous 
associations  that  clustered  around  them,  for  a  home 
among  strangers  in  the  western  wilds.  I  thought  of 
the  words  of  St.  Paul,  "  And  now  behold,  I  know 
that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  have  gone  preaching  the 
kingdom  of  God,  shall  see  my  face  no  more."  With 
emotions  of  no  ordinary  sensibility,  I  bade  adieu  to 
my  father  and  friends.  Resting  in  the  promise  that 
God  would  protect  us  in  the  line  of  duty,  I  pro- 
nounced the  word,  Farewell. 


A    SUPEKANNUATE.  225 

On  the  4th  day  of  July,  1826,  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  American   Independence  —  a  day  suggestive 
of  patriotism,  heroic  suffering,  brilliant  triumph,  lib- 
erty and  success — we  started  for  the  state  of  Ohio. 
A  two-horse  wagon  held  the  few  things  we  brought, 
and  most  of  the  family  ;    while  my  wife,    daughter, 
and  myself,  came  in  a  light  carriage,  drawn  by  my 
old  circuit  horse.     We  made  our  way  through  New 
Jersey,  into  Pennsylvania,  passing  through  Nazareth 
township,  which  I  thought  the   most  delightful  spot 
of  country  I  had  ever  seen.     The  face   of  the  coun- 
try was  fine,  the  soil  good,   and   in   a  state   of  high 
cultivation,  with  beautiful  groves  of  timber  with  the 
underbrush  cleared  away,  so  that  teams   could  pass 
freely    in    every    direction.       Taken    altogether,    it 
looked  like  a  little  paradise.     On  the  first  Saturday 
evening,  we  put  up  with  a  local  preacher.     On  Sun- 
day morning,  I  rode  out  with  him  some  three  or  four 
miles,  and  preached  to  his  congregation ;   came  back 
and  preached  in  the  village  at  five  o'clock.     The  next 
morning,  I  proposed  to  pay  my  bill,  but  he  thought 
we  were   about   even,  and  refused  pay ;    so  we  took 
leave  of  this  kind  friend,  and  moved  on  slowly  toward 
our  western  home.     The  next  Saturday  night  brought 
us  to  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.     Brother  Griffin,  of  the 
Baltimore  conference,  was  the  stationed  preacher  at 
this    place,    and   his    quarterly  meeting    commenced 
that    evening.     Upon    learning    who    I  was,    he    in- 
quired where  I  put  up ;    I  told  him   at  the   tavern. 
"Well,"  said  he,  "we  have  plenty  of  friends  in  this 


226  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

place,  and  would  be  glad  to  have  you  stay  to  the 
meeting."  Brother  G.  soon  had  us  away  from  the 
tavern,  among  Methodists,  who  received  us  gladly, 
and  made  us  feel  at  home.  That  evening  the  pre- 
siding elder  invited  me  to  preach,  giving  me  my 
choice  between  that  night  and  the  next  morning.  I 
took  the  night  appointment.  The  next  morning  the 
elder  preached  an  excellent  sermon,  and  urged  me 
to  preach  again  at  night ;  this  I  did  to  a  crowded 
congregation,  and  humbly  trust  some  good  was 
effected.  On  Monday  morning  the  kind  friends 
insisted  that  we  should  stay  to  their  love-feast,  and 
rest  ourselves  and  teams  another  day.  We  con- 
sented; and  the  love-feast  in  Carlisle,  proved  very 
similar  to  such  meetings  where  I  had  traveled. 
Methodism  is  one  throughout  the  wide-spread  con- 
nection, and  nothing  contributes  more  to  her  unity 
and   spirituality  than  these  feasts  of  love. 

On  Tuesday  morning  we  bade  adieu  to  those 
friends,  whose  hospitality  we  had  shared,  promising 
to  write  them  after  our  journey  was  ended — a  prom- 
ise which,  owing  to  the  press  of  business,  and  the 
numerous  cares  connected  with  settling  in  a  new 
country,  was  neglected  from  time  to  time,  and  never 
fulfilled.  Should  this  little  work  ever  fall  into  the 
hands  of  those  friends,  they  will  learn  that  their 
kindnesses  have  never  been  forgotten. 

The  next  Sabbath  was  spent  in  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  without  the  privileges  of  public  worship. 
Another  weary  week  rolled  round,  and  the  Sabbath 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  227 

dawned  upon  us  in  the  state  of  Virginia.     Here  we 
had  no  opportunity  of  attending  divine   service,  but 
the  young  people  began  collecting  at  an  early  hour, 
at   the  public  house  where  we  were   staying,  for  the 
purpose  of  having  a  dance  !     Upon  ascertaining  the 
character  of  the  gathering,  we  hitched  up  and  drove 
a  few  miles  to   another   tavern,  where  we  rested  in 
quietness    till    Monday   morning.     How  terrible   the 
thought  that  men  and  women  should  spend  the  holy 
Sabbath   in   dancing  their  souls   to   hell!     I  am    no 
friend  to  dancing.     It  is  attended  with  evil,  and  only 
evil,  and  that  continually.     No  good  ever  comes  of 
it.     The  Baptist  lost  his  head  through  the  freaks  of 
a  dancing    damsel!     But  many  apologize   for  it  on 
the  ground  that  it  is  conducive  to  health.     Exercise 
is  good ;    but  if  the  young  ladies  would  get  up  the 
big  spinning-wheel,  and  exercise  upon  that,  as  their 
mothers  used  to  do ;  or  if  they  would  engage  in  other 
useful   employments,   which    they  might    do,  without 
sacrificing    their   dignity,   they   would   never   die   for 
want  of  exercise,  nor  find  it  necessary  to  resort  to 
any  such   foolish    capering,  in   order  to   develop  the 
muscular  system.     "  But  then  it  teaches  politeness." 
Well,    politeness    is    "good-breeding,"    gentility,    or 
elegance  of  manners ;    but  how  the  true  refinement 
of  mind  and  heart  necessary  to  politeness,  is  to  be 
learned    in  the  ball-room,   is   a  mystery  I  can    not 
solve.     And  I  give  it  as  my  solemn  judgment,  that 
I  have  never  marked  any  difference  in  the  manners 
of  dancers  and  others,  only  that  they  are  fonder  of 


228  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

frivolity,  fun,  novel-reading,  and  nonsense,  than  those 
who  do  not  dance.  But,  perhaps,  since  the  practice 
has  been  taught  morality,  and,  under  a  new  cogno- 
men, has  been  christened  and  introduced  into  respect- 
able "institutions ,"  it  will  be  best  to  drop  the  subject. 
I  could  not  give  the  reader  who  never  saw  them, 
an  adequate  idea  of  the  roads  over  which  we  passed, 
in  crossing  the  Mountains ;  and  those  who  have  wit- 
nessed the  bluffs,  ravines,  and  rocks,  which  make  up 
the  variety  of  scenery  through  those  huge  elevations 
of  the  earth,  have  no  need  of  description.  Day  after 
day,  we  moved  along,  cheered  with  the  assurance 
that  every  ascent  or  descent  we  passed,  brought  us 
a  little  nearer  the  land  of  our  ardent  hopes.  Some- 
times I  would  drive  ahead,  unhitch  my  faithful 
horse,  go  back  and  assist  the  other  team  up  the 
steep,  and  then,  after  resting  beneath  the  shade  of 
the  majestic  trees,  hitch  up  and  resume  our  regular 
gait.  At  length,  we  found  ourselves  in  Wheeling, 
Virginia,  and  lost  but  little  time  in  crossing  the 
Ohio,  when  we  found  ourselves  in  the  state  which 
we  were  adopting  as  our  future  home.  But  here 
we  found  even  steeper  ascents  and  descents  than 
any  we  passed  in  the  mountains.  Still  we  "  scrab- 
bled" on,  till  we  arrived  within  about  forty  miles  of 
Zanesville,  where  wo  hired  a  man  with  a  team  to 
help  us  to  that  place.  Thence  we  made  our  way, 
through  Granville,  to  Berkshire,  Delaware  county, 
Ohio.  Here  we  met  Mrs.  Lewis's  father,  and  two 
brothers,  from  whom   she  had  been  separated  four- 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  229 

teen  years.  I  need  not  speak  of  the  happiness  of 
that  meeting.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood gave  us  a  hearty  welcome,  and  urged  us  to 
partake  of  their  hospitalities.  Such  open-hearted 
friendship  from  strangers,  is  only  to  be  met  with  in 
new  countries,  where  artificial  refinements,  and  sordid 
selfishness,  have  not  yet  taken  full  possession  of  the 
people. 

We  arrived  at  our  destination  on  Friday,  after 
being  on  the  road  about  five  weeks.  I  was  immedi- 
ately called  on  to  preach;  the  appointment  was  an- 
nounced, and,  on  Sabbath,  I  preached  my  first  ser- 
mon in  Ohio.  This  was  about  the  middle  of  August. 
Among  my  hearers  that  day  were  old  brother  Janes 
and  his  wife,  two  of  my  old  friends,  while  stationed 
on  the  island  in  Lake  Champlain.  He  invited  me  to 
preach,  the  next  Sabbath,  in  his  barn;  I  did  so,  and 
had  a  good  congregation  for  a  new  country.  I  soon 
had  pressing  invitations  from  the  surrounding  neigh- 
borhoods, to  visit  and  preach  among  them.  Thus,  it 
will  be  perceived  that  I  did  not  become  settled  in 
my  new  home  till  I  was  at  my  old,  favorite  business, 
preaching  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ. 

Two  things  seemed  to  operate  to  bring  my  services 
into  demand :  First,  I  came  all  the  way  from  the  New 
York  conference ;  and,  secondly,  I  had  a  clear,  smooth 
voice.  People  are  fond  of  new  things,  and  they  were, 
perhaps,  more  pleased  with  the  sound  than  with  the 
substance  of  my  preaching.  But  I  ought  also  to 
add,  that  they  were  not,  in  those  days,  possessed  of 


230  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

"itching  ears;"  they  looked  not  with  critical  eye 
upon  the  rhetoric  of  the  man,  but  waited  for  the 
bread  of  life  and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We 
worshiped  God  with  singleness  of  heart,  and  had 
glorious  times  together  in  this  wilderness  land. 

In  about  three  weeks  after  our  arrival  at  Berkshire, 
the  quarterly  meeting  for  Columbus  circuit  was  held 
in  the  loft  of  brother  Carpenter's  large  mill;  brother 
Jacob  Young  presiding  elder,  and  brothers  Joseph 
Carper  and  J.  H.  Power,  the  circuit  preachers.  I 
attended,  and,  after  being  introduced  to  the  preach- 
ers, brother  Young  invited  me  to  preach  on  Saturday, 
at  eleven  o'clock.  I  dwelt,  with  some  liberty,  upon 
the  words  of  our  Savior,  John  xv,  14:  "Ye  are  my 
friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you."  The 
next  morning,  we  had  love-feast;  here  I  found  conge- 
nial spirits,  and  as  the  brethren  and  sisters  sketched 
their  experience,  I  felt  that  these  were  children  of 
my  Father  in  heaven.  From  that  day  to  this,  I 
have  felt  at  home  among  Ohio  Methodists.  Brother 
Young  desired  me  to  preach  again  at,  eleven,  on  Sab- 
bath. I  took  for  my  text,  "When  the  unclean  spirit 
is  gone  out  of  a  man,"  etc.  A  Presbyterian  brother 
present  said  to  one  of  his  brethren,  "If  the  doctrine 
preached  to-day  is  correct,  ours  is  wrong;  and  I 
think  he  proved  his  position  from  the  Bible."  This 
man  searched  the  Scriptures,  till  he  was  satisfied  of 
the  correctness  of  our  doctrines,  and  then  offered 
himself  for  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.     His  subsequent  life  evinced  that  he  was  a 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  231 

man  of  God.  On  Saturday  night,  Mrs.  Lewis  and 
myself  were  invited  to  stay  with  Mr.  Dustin.  We 
formed  a  delightful  acquaintance  with*  him  and  his 
kind  companion.  They  made  no  profession  of  relig- 
ion, but  were  agreeable,  generous  friends;  and  the 
friendship  then  formed  remains  permament.  But, 
some  time  after  this,  Mrs.  D.  died,  and  I  preached 
her  funeral;  Mr.  D.  sought  and  obtained  religion 
some  years  ago,  and  is  now  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

When  we  arrived  at  Berkshire,  we  had  fifteen  dol- 
lars left,  with  which  to  furnish  our  house,  lay  in  pro- 
visions, etc.;  but  we  knew  how,  and  felt  willing,  to 
work,  and  were  soon  at  it.  We  lived,  the  first  six 
months,  in  a  room  furnished  by  my  brother-in-law. 
I  sold  my  old  circuit  horse  and  carriage,  and  bought 
fifty  acres  of  land.  The  next  step  was  to  get  up  a 
house.  We  went  at  it  in  good  earnest,  and  I  take 
pleasure  in  acknowledging  the  kindness  of  friends, 
who  rendered  me  efficient  aid.  They  turned  out  with 
axes  and  teams,  cut  and  hauled  logs,  brick,  and  lum- 
ber, and  soon  we  had  a  good  cabin,  neatly  finished. 
After  moving  into  it,  on  the  14th  of  May,  1827,  we 
bowed  the  knee,  and  lifted  up  our  hearts  to  God  in 
thanksgiving,  that  we  were  permitted  to  make  a  be- 
ginning in  this  new  country.  I  had  written  to  the 
New  York  conference  for  a  location;  this  was  granted 
on  the  17th  of  May,  three  days  after  we  moved  into 
our  new  cabin.  Of  course,  I  was  now  known  as  a 
local  preacher.     I  had  before  sustained  that  relation 


232  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

to  the  Church ;  but  I  have  never  been  a  local  preacher 
only  nominally.  I  was  employed  on  a  circuit  before 
I  had  license  to  preach,  and  when  I  obtained  license 
on  Saturday,  I  started  on  the  next  Monday  for  my 
circuit.  The  year  I  located,  I  rode  some  twelve  hun- 
dred miles,  and  preached  from  one  to  six  sermons 
per  week,  winter  and  summer.  Almost  every  day 
brought  some  sort  of  call.  Funerals,  protracted 
meetings,  quarterly  and  camp  meetings,  beside  ordi- 
nary Sabbath  appointments,  made  demand  for  nearly 
my  whole  time.  Sometimes  I  would  tell  them  I  could 
not  go;  but  they  would  insist,  till  off  would  come  the 
harness  from  my  team,  and  away  I  went  to  seek  the 
salvation  of  some  for  whom  the  Savior  shed  his 
blood. 

I  attended  a  camp  meeting  above  Delaware,  not 
far  from  Marion.  Here  I  was  remarkably  aided  by 
Divine  grace,  while  holding  up  the  only  condition  of 
discipleship,  from  Matthew  xvi,  24:  "If  any  man 
will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up 
his  cross,  and  follow  me."  The  glory  of  the  Lord 
overshadowed  the  assembly,  and,  at  the  close  of  the 
sermon,  three-fourths  of  the  audience  were  upon  their 
feet,  crowding  toward  the  stand.  To  thy  name,  0 
Lord,  be  all  the  glory  forever ! 

Some  time  after  this,  two  brethren  from  Knox 
county,  over  twenty  miles  distant,  came  to  induce 
me  to  make  arrangements  for  preaching  regularly  in 
their  neighborhood.  I  told  them  I  could  not  go. 
They  replied   that   I  would  have   to  board  them  a 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  233 

week,  if  I  did  not  consent  sooner.  I  informed  them 
that  my  purpose  in  coming  west  was  to  raise  my  own 
bread;  that  I  wished  to  labor,  "  working  with  my  own 
hands,"  and  was  determined,  with  the  blessing  of 
Providence,  to  accumulate  a  little  for  after  years. 
But  they  were  willing  to  remunerate  me  for  my  time. 
My  next  excuse  was,  I  had  sold  my  circuit  horse,  and 
had  no  beast  fit  to  ride.  In  reply  to  this,  one  brother 
said  he  had  an  excellent  riding  nag,  and  would  ex- 
change with  me.  At  length  I  yielded,  and  sent  an 
appointment.  I  continued  riding  out  there,  through 
the  woods  and  mud,  regularly  during  the  year.  That 
same  season,  I  attended  a  camp  meeting  on  "Black 
Lick" — preached  from  Luke  xiii,  24:  " Strive  to 
enter  in  at  the  strait  gate :  for  many,  I  say  unto  you, 
will  seek  to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be  able."  The 
meeting,  upon  the  whole,  was  an  interesting  one. 
Here  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Rev.  Samuel  Car- 
penter, a  local  preacher,  and  his  lady.  Our  inter- 
course was  pleasant  then,  and  remains  unchanged  to 
this  day.  I  attended  another  meeting  on  the  same 
ground,  and  preached  from  Christ's  address  to  the 
young  man  who  had  great  possessions :  "  If  thou  wilt 
be  perfect,  go  sell  what  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the 
poor,"  etc.  Both  of  these  meetings  were  profitable 
to  the  Church,  and  many  were  awakened  and  con- 
verted to  God.  Once  more  I  thank  God  for  camp 
meetings ! 

In  March,   1829,  I   went   to   Columbus  to  attend 

our  quarterly  meeting.     Rev.  L.  Swormstedt  was  on 
20 


234  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

the  circuit,  and  Kev.  D.  Young  the  presiding  elder. 
Brother  Young  said  to  me,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you ; 
I  want  to  employ  you  to  fill  a  vacancy."  My  reply 
was,  "  I  can  not  go."  He  then  read  me  a  letter 
he  had  received  from  Rev.  C.  Springer,  informing 
him,  that  he  should  do  no  work  on  the  circuit — 
Fairfield — after  the  next  quarterly  meeting,  that 
he  intended  to  withdraw  from  the  Church,  etc.;  he 
then  read  his  reply  to  this  epistle.  He  acknowl- 
edged the  receipt  of  brother  S.'s  letter,  thanked 
him  for  the  timely  notice  given  of  his  intentions, 
informed  him  that  his  labors  would  be  dispensed 
.  with  after  a  certain  date ;  adding,  "  If  your  conduct 
is  satisfactory  to  yourself,  I  shall  take  no  umbrage 
at  it." 

Mr.  Springer,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  one  of 
the  leading  spirits  in  the  Radical  secession.  He 
had  written  for  the  "  Mutual  Rights,"  agitated  the 
subject  of  "  reform  "  extensively,  labored  hard  to 
break  down  the  presiding  eldership  and  episcopacy, 
tormented  himself  with  imaginary  oppressions  and 
evils,  till  his  soul  was  completely  imbittered  against 
the  Church  of  his  early  choice  and  first  love,  and 
now  he  determined  to  leave,  expecting  to  see  the 
results  of  his  toil,  and  the  proofs  of  his  magic  influ- 
ence, in  the  sweeping  numbers  that  would  rush  after 
him  into  the  new  organization.  At  this  point,  he 
was  sadly  disappointed.  Comparatively  few  followed 
him  ;  many  were  disaffected  in  feeling,  for  a  time, 
but  the  larger  part  discovered  the  folly  of  secession, 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  235 

and  refused  to  run  off  after  abstractions.  They 
soon  became  reconciled  to  the  policy  of  the  Church, 
stood  firm,  and  prospered.  If  outward  indications 
are  to  be  relied  on,  Mr.  S.  has  lived  to  see  the 
day  when  he  felt  as  little  at  home  among  "Rad- 
icals," as  he  ever  did  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  ;  he  has  found  abundant  use  for  his  talent 
of  fault-finding,  and  not  a  few  of  his  brethren  have 
been  made  to  feel  the  withering  power  of  his  sarcasm. 

After  reading  these  letters,  brother  Young  insisted, 
saying,  "Now  you  have  the  whole  matter  before 
you;  the  circuit  is  large,  it  contains  many  excellent 
members,  some  of  them  have  their  minds  poisoned, 
and  I  want  a  man  who  has  had  some  experience,  to 
counteract  the  mischievous  influence."  My  answer 
was,  that  it  would  damage  me  pecuniarily  not 
less  than  a  hundred  dollars,  and  I  could  not  go. 
Brother  Swormstedt  had  previously  traveled  the  cir- 
cuit, and  he  urged  me  not  to  refuse.  I  yielded, 
and  in  ten  days  was  off  to  the  work.  The  quarterly 
meeting  was  held  in  Somerset ;  and  on  the  day  of 
its  commencement  I  arrived  in  the  place.  That 
night  I  opened  my  ministry  from  2  Tim.  ii,  19 : 
"Nevertheless  the  foundation  of  God  standeth  sure," 
etc.  I  had  some  light,  but  not  much  liberty.  Our 
meeting  was  tolerably  good,  though  some  excitement 
prevailed  on  the  subject  of   "  Radicalism." 

I  was  now  fairly  upon  Fairfield  circuit,  with  brother 
Jacob  Young,  preacher  in  charge.  At  that  time  this 
circuit  extended  into  Fairfield,  Licking,   and   Perry 


236  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

counties,  including  the  territory  now  embraced  in 
Lancaster  and  Somerset  stations,  ,  Rushville,  West 
Rushville,  Rehoboth,  Baltimore,  and  Hebron  circuits. 
We  found,  as  already  intimated,  a  good  many  whose 
minds  were  soured  and  strongly  tinctured  with 
radical  notions,  and  our  first  aim  was  to  "  heal  the 
breach."  Brother  Young  administered  the  dicipline 
judiciously,  and  with  mildness,  and  I  co-operated 
with  him  as  best  I  could,  seeking  to  keep  the  minds 
of  the  people  on  the  cross  of  Christ,  as  well  as  to 
exhibit  the  beauty  and  efficiency  of  our  Church 
polity.  I  preached  at  all  the  appointments,  met  the 
classes,  and  after  class  meeting  would  give  a  short 
lecture  on  the  peculiarities  of  our  Church  government. 
I  also  sought  private  conversations  with  the  dis- 
affected ones,  met  their  objections  as  well  as  I  could, 
and  in  a  short  time  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
many  that  were  leaning  over,  righted  up  again,  and 
quietness  generally  restored.  Mr.  Springer  traveled 
all  over  our  bounds,  preaching,  visiting  and  laboring 
to  propagate  his  faith,  but  only  succeeded  in  organ- 
izing one  class  in  our  territory.  That  consisted 
of  eleven  members,  and  the  brother  they  elected 
leader,  the  first  time  we  preached  where  he  formerly 
belonged,  came  forward,  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
begged  that  his  name  might  not  be  taken  off  the 
class-book ;  and  that,  I  believe,  was  about  the  last 
of  the  class. 

Shortly  after    commencing    labor   on    this    circuit, 
I  discovered  that,  notwithstanding  I  had  been  preach- 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  237 

ing  from  one  to  six  times  per  week,  the  world  was 
gaining  too  strong  a  hold  upon  my  mind,  and 
that  my  spirituality  had  proportionably  declined. 
Then  I  concluded  I  must  be  a  traveling  preacher, 
or  lose  my  soul.  The  world  dwindled  into  insignifi- 
cance, and  I  was  enabled  to  say  to  its  charms,  fare- 
well. I  now  determined  to  give  my  whole  time  to 
the  work,  drop  the  world,  and  trust  all  in  the  hands 
of  God.  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain 
the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?"  This 
solemn  interrogatory  was  impressed  with  great  force 
upon  my  heart.  And  I  thank  God  that  it  was  so ; 
for,  had  I  continued  in  secular  employ,  succeeded 
in  business,  accumulated  property,  and,  consequently, 
fallen  under  the  influence  of  worldly  maxims  and 
policy,  the  good  Being  only  knows  what  the  result 
would  have  been.  But,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
when  this  opening  occurred,  the  good  brethren 
pressed  me  to  enter  into  the  "  open  door."  Here 
the  cloud  gathering  in  the  spiritual  heavens  was 
revealed,  and  before  the  Sun  of  righteousness  was 
hid  from  my  vision,  faith  prevailed,  and  the  impend- 
ing storm  was  averted.  The  shadow  of  a  cloud 
passed  over  my  soul,  and  I  was  again  light  in  the 
Lord.  "  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for 
all  his  benefits  toward  me  ?  I  will  take  the  cup 
of  salvation,  and  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
I  will  pay  my  vows  unto  the  Lord  now  in  the 
presence  of  all   his   people." 

At   the   close  of  the   year,  in  company  with  my 


238  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

worthy  colleague,  I  started  to  attend  the  session  of 
the  Ohio  conference,  which  was  to  be  held  in  Urbana. 
On  our  way,  we  attended  brother  Swormstedt's  camp 
meeting,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  below  Columbus. 
The  meeting  was  a  deeply-interesting  one.  Brother 
Swormstedt  was  a  good  presiding  officer,  kept  fine 
order,  and  was  not  opposed  to  shouting,  when  the 
people  were  ready  to  shout,  being  full  of  God.  At 
this  meeting  I  preached  from  Ephesians  iii,  7-9.  The 
Spirit  helped  my  infirmities,  and  the  grove  was  made 
vocal  with  the  high  praises  of  God.  The  camp  meet- 
ing over,  we  went  on  to  conference.  This  being  the 
first  session  I  attended  in  Ohio,  was  specially  inter- 
esting to  me.  I  formed  acquaintance  with  many  of 
the  preachers,  found  them  like  those  I  left  behind — 
men  of  God,  sweetly  united  in  the  work  of  saving 
souls.  The  cordial  welcome  they  gave  me,  made  me 
feel  that  I  was  among  brethren  beloved.  Thank 
heaven  that  it  was  my  lot  to  become  identified  with 
these  lovely  men  of  God  ! 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  239 


CHAPTER    XV. 

DELAWARE    CIRCUIT  — ONE    YEAR. 

My  name  was  now  presented  for  re-admission  into 
the  traveling  connection.  My  health  had  been  some- 
what impaired,  by  an  attack  of  influenza,  and  some 
of  the  brethren  thought  I  would  not  be  able  to  endure 
the  hardships  of  an  itinerant  life,  in  the  west.  The 
conference  hesitated ;  just  then  the  Rev.  John  Collins 
made  some  remarks  on  the  subject — said  he  believed 
I  was  as  able  for  the  work  as  he  was,  when  he  was 
received,  etc.;  I  was  admitted,  and  appointed  to  the 
Delaware  circuit,  in  company  with  brother  S.  P. 
Shaw.  My  colleague  was  dissatisfied  with  his  ap- 
pointment. On  this  account,  his  usefulness  was  hin- 
dered, in  the  forepart  of  the  year,  but,  in  the  latter 
part,  he  did  well.  Rev.  R.  Bigelow  was  our  presiding 
elder.  I  became  acquainted  with  him  when  he  was  a 
boy,  at  his  father's  house,  in  Lower  Canada.  But  he 
is  too  well  known  to  need  further  notice  from  me.  I 
will  only  add,  that  I  can  bear  witness,  from  personal 
knowledge  of  his  life  and  spirit,  that,  as  a  preacher, 
a  diligent  laborer,  a  man,  and  a  meek  disciple  of 
Christ,  he  was  all  that  others  have  said  of  him,  and, 
even  more.  His  name  is  embalmed  in  the  hearts  of 
all  that  knew  him. 


240  KECOLLECTIONS     OF 

This  was  a  heavy  circuit.  We  had  thirty-three 
appointments  to  be  filled  every  twenty-eight  days ; 
and,  when  I  say  the  roads  were  extremely  bad,  the 
old  pioneers  will  know  precisely  what  I  mean.  We 
went  six  miles  above  Bucyrus,  and  six  miles  below 
Delaware.  Twice,  during  the  winter,  I  was  caught 
above  Bucyrus,  when  heavy  rains  fell,  covering  the 
whole  surface  of  the  country  with  water,  followed  by 
severe  cold,  which  made  the  roads  a  glare  of  ice.  I 
rode  thirty  or  forty  miles  when  there  was  scarcely  a 
rod  not  covered  with  it.  We  passed  out  through  the 
beech  woods,  over  the  Salt  Section,  and  down  below 
Delaware.  These  trips  were  trying  to  man  and 
horse.  In  Delaware,  we  preached  in  the  court-house. 
We  had  a  good  congregation,  and  an  excellent  so- 
ciety. There  were  about  sixty  or  seventy  members, 
and  they  all  met  together  for  class.  I  never  favored 
this  plan,  but  it  was  very  difficult  then  to  "  divide 
each  society  into  smaller  companies,  called  classes," 
as  the  Discipline  directs.  I  recollect  meeting  class 
here,  one  day  after  preaching,  when  a  number  spoke 
of  their  desire  to  die  happy.  A  good  old  Welsh 
brother  arose  and  said,  he  heard  a  number  express 
much  concern  about  dying  happy;  "but,"  said  he, 
"  I  have  no  anxiety  about  dying,  my  anxiety  is  all 
about  living  ;  for  I  know  I  shall  die  right,  if  I  only 
live  right."  This  is  both  Scriptural  and  philosophical. 
Many  give  themselves  unnecessary  pain  about  the 
dying  hour.  If  all  the  anxious  thought  that  is  be- 
stowed  upon   that   point,  were    directed  to  a  proper 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  241 

regulation  of  the  life,  many  more  would  die  happy 
than  really  do.  The  true  servants  of  Christ,  need  not 
be,  "  through  fear  of  death,  all  their  life-time  subject 
to  bondage."  Only  let  this  thought,  "that,  if  we 
live  right,  we  shall  be  sure  to  die  right,"  become  a 
matter  of  veritable  faith,  of  fixed  conviction,  and  we 
may  be  delivered  from  that  servile  fear,  which  hath 
torment.     God  help  us  to  live  for  eternity ! 

At  one  point  on  the  circuit,  I  experienced  some 
difficulty  in  administering  discipline.  A  man,  highly 
esteemed  among  his  neighbors,  opposed  me  ;  but,  as 
he  is  now  done  with  the  contentions  of  this  life,  I 
would  only  remark,  that,  however  much  the  brethren 
respected  this  man,  they  proved,  by  rallying  to  its 
support,  that  they  loved  the  Church  more;  and,  by 
firmly  co-operating  together,  we  succeeded  in  carry- 
ing out  the  principles  of  Methodism.  If  discipline 
must  be  enforced,  it  is  cheering  to  the  preacher's 
heart,  to  find  the  membership  ready  to  sustain  him  in 
its  administration. 

The  first  time  I  preached  in  Marion,  I  felt  that 
God  had  a  people  in  that  place.  At  our  first  quar- 
terly meeting  I  made  a  remark  to  that  effect,  adding, 
"  I  am  after  you,  and,  in  the  name  of  God,  I  will 
have  you  !"  A  man,  in  the  congregation,  said  to 
himself,  as  he  afterward  told  me,  "  Well,  old  fellow, 
you  will  not  catch  me,  at  any  rate."  Yet  he  was 
among  the  first  to  approach  the  altar  of  prayer— was 
happily  converted,  and  become  a  useful  member  of 
the  Church.  The  strong  man  armed  keepeth  his 
21 


242  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

goods  in  safety,  but  when  a  stronger  than  he  is  come, 
the  strong  man  is  bound,  etc.;  that  is,  when  a  man 
rests  in  carnal  security,  he  scorns  the  weakness  of 
those  who  repent  and  pray,  but,  when  the  Spirit  of 
God  takes  hold  of  his  heart,  then  he  finds  himself  so 
miserable  and  vile,  that  he  cries  out,  "  0,  wretched 
man  that  I  am  !"  Breaking  off  from  his  sins,  by 
righteousness,  and  from  his  iniquities,  by  turning 
unto  the  Lord,  he  finds  that,  "With  God.  there  is 
forgiveness,  that  he  may  be  feared."  We  were 
favored  with  a  very  good  revival  in  this  place. 

In  the  fall,  my  colleague  and  myself  attended  a 
camp  meeting  among  the  Wyandotts,  at  the  mission. 
The  sight  of  these  red  brethren,  coming  on  to  the 
ground,  pitching  their  tents,  and  making  ready  for 
the  worship  of  God,  filled  my  heart  with  gratitude. 
As  I  looked  upon  their  sobriety,  order,  and  devotion, 
I  could  but  exclaim,  "What  hath  God  wrought!" 
They  paid  strict  attention  to  all  the  preaching,  sung 
the  songs  of  Zion  most  delightfully,  and  their  prayers 
were  fervent,  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Their 
exhortations  were  full  of  fire — the  fire  that  kindles  in 
the  soul — that  runs  from  heart  to  heart,  encircling  all 
in  a  flame  of  love.  I  felt  it  burning  in  my  own  soul, 
as  I  mingled  in  their  devotions',  and,  thank  God  !  it 
made  me  feel  clever!  They  were  addressed  on  the 
subject  of  missions,  and  responded  in  the  sum  of 
forty  dollars.  They  had  the  true  missionary  spirit. 
One  of  them,  in  speaking  of  the  Gospel  being  brought 
to  them,  and  of  the    change  it  had  wrought  for  the 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  243 

better,  exclaimed,  "  And,  now  I  feel  like  giving  it 
another  push !"  I  noticed  a  young  chief,  per- 
haps eighteen  years  of  age ;  he  was  covered  with 
rings,  beads,  and  all  the  tinsels  and  gew-gaws,  found 
among  the  wild  sons  of  the  forest ;  when  he  walked 
he  appeared  to  cover  over  more  ground  than  any  per- 
son I  ever  saw.  I  could  but  contrast  him  with  the 
converted  Indians.  In  looking  at  his  pride,  and 
their  humility,  the  change  wrought  by  Divine  grace, 
was  fully  manifest. 

I  have  attended  a  great  many  camp  meetings, 
but  for  order,  devotion,  and  happiness,  I  have  never 
seen  this  one  excelled.  These  Indians  were  a  pat- 
tern for  any  congregation,  worshiping  in  the  wilder- 
ness or  in  the  city.  And  let  me  say  that  the  sisters 
spread  as  white  linen  upon  their  tables,  as  ever 
graced  the  tented  grove.  I  left  the  ground  with 
feelings  which  I  can  never  describe.  Halleluiah  to 
God  !  The  degraded,  abused  red  man  can  be  saved  ! 
The  redeeming  grace  of  God  has  already  housed 
many  of  them  in  heaven,  and  many  more  are  on 
their  way  !  This  is  no  fiction.  God  is  no  respecter 
of  persons,  and  the  Gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth.  "  0,  that 
men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  his  goodness,  for 
his  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of  men  !"  But 
the  marks  of  improvement  in  their  condition,  attrib- 
utable to  their  having  received  the  Gospel,  were 
not  confined  to  the  camp-ground,  or  their  solemn 
assemblies.     We  passed  through  their  country,  and 


244  KECOLLECTIONS     OF 

on  beholding  their  neat,  well-finished  houses  and 
barns,  their  clean  yards,  high  fences,  well- cultivated 
fields,  and  luxuriant  corn,  were  led  to  praise  God  on 
their  behalf.  What  we  witnessed  was  sufficient  to  con- 
vince the  most  skeptical  of  the  practicability  of  Chris- 
tianizing and  civilizing  this  portion  of  our  fallen  race. 

We  had  a  camp  meeting  on  our  circuit  this  year  ; 
it  was  a  tolerably  good  meeting,  though  nothing  of 
special  interest  transpired.  The  year  closed  pleas- 
antly, and  we  took  our  departure,  leaving  many 
friends  behind,  whom  we  shall  no  more  see  till 
the  day  of  eternity  dawns  upon  us.  I  had  reason 
for  thanksgiving  to  God  that  myself  and  family — 
still  living  on  my  little  farm  in  Berkshire — had 
been  graciously  spared  another  year.  I  received 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  dollars  for  my  services 
on  the  circuit ;  and  the  stewards'  book  revealed  the 
fact  that  ninety  dollars  more  had  been  raised  on 
the  circuit  than  any  previous  year.  My  predecessors 
had  close  living. 

In  September,  1830,  the  conference  sat  in  Lan- 
caster, Ohio — Bishop  Soule  presiding.  The  business 
of  the  conference  was  transacted  with  harmony  and 
dispatch.  On  Sabbath,  the  Bishop  preached  a  power- 
ful sermon  from  the  words,  "  If  our  Gospel  be  hid, 
it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost,"  etc.;  many  were 
made  to  feel  and  tremble  at  the  word.  After  the 
sermon,  the  newly-elected  deacons  were  ordained. 
In  the  afternoon,  the  Rev.  T.  A.  Morris — now 
Bishop — preached  one  of  his  plain,  instructive,  forci- 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  245 

ble  sermons,  after  which  occurred  the  service  of 
ordaining  elders.  On  one  evening  of  the  session, 
the  somewhat  eccentric  A.  W.  Elliott  preached  on, 
"  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock,"  etc.; 
under  this  sermon,  the  congregation  manifested  deep 
feeling.  The  speaker,  as  usual,  threw  his  whole 
soul  into  his  subject,  and  God  attended  the  word 
with  power.  The  next  day  brother  Elliot's  char- 
acter was  examined,  and  he  asked  that  his  relation 
to  the  conference — he  was  superannuated — might  be 
continued.  The  Bishop  remarked,  "  Brethren,  I 
am  not  a  superannuated  man,  but  if  I  should  preach 
as  brother  Elliott  did  last  night,  I  soon  would  be." 
Brother  E.  was  an  impulsive  man ;  what  he  attempted 
to  do  at  all,  he  did  with  all  his  might;  and  some- 
times he  made  draughts  upon  his  physical  strength, 
such  as  the  stoutest  constitution  could  not  bear  with- 
out detriment.  He  wielded  a  powerful  influence  in 
the  days  of  his  strength,  and  has  doubtless  won 
many  souls  to  the  Redeemer's  praise. 

At  the  close  of  this  conference,  I  was  sent  to  the 
Pickaway  circuit,  the  head  of  which  was  Circleville. 
Brother  Baird,  who  was  just  admitted  on  trial,  was 
my  colleague ;  and  that  faithful  old  pioneer,  the 
now  sainted  John  Collins,  was  my  presiding  elder. 
Brother  Baird  was  a  blessed,  good  man,  and  a  prom- 
ising preacher ;  but  his  race  was  short.  In  March 
following,  he  died  in  sight  of  heaven,  and  I  preached 
his  funeral  sermon.  It  was  a  deeply  solemn  time. 
I  dwelt  on  the  words,  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the 


246  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his."  The 
deceased  brother  had  greatly  endeared  himself  to 
many  on  the  circuit,  and  to  me  in  particular;  we 
mourned  his  departure  with  unaffected  grief.  The 
event  led  me  to  close  self-examination  ;  I  purposed 
to  live  better,  to  be  more  useful,  that  I  also  might 
be  fully  ready  when  summoned  away. 

My  circuit  lying  fifty  miles  from  home,  with  several 
unbridged  streams  between,  rendered  it  necessary 
that  my  family  should  move  to  the  circuit ;  but  there 
was  no  parsonage,  and  no  house  provided  for  the 
preacher's  family.  I  rented  a  room  and  moved  in, 
drew  up  a  subscription-paper,  and  purposed  to  build 
a  preachers'  house.  Some  noble-hearted  brethren 
and  sisters  pledged  assistance,  and  I  went  about  it 
with  good  hope  of  success.  The  members  in  Circle- 
ville  were  just  building  a  church,  had  it  up  and 
roofed,  and  thought  they  had  all  they  could  do  to 
finish  that.  At  the  first  quarterly  meeting  confer- 
ence, I  called  attention  to  the  subject,  but  none  were 
willing  to  take  hold  of  it ;  I  then  drew  out  my  sub- 
scription-paper, and  read  the  names  and  amounts 
pledged.  Upon  seeing  the  encouragement  given  from 
distant  parts  of  the  circuit,  the  friends  in  town  took 
hold  in  earnest,  and  we  succeeded  in  the  enterprise — 
not  fully,  however,  till  my  second  year.  The  most 
liberal  subscriptions  were  from  Grooms'  neighbor- 
hood, on  Walnut  creek  ;  an  appointment  now  called 
Hopewell,  on  Groveport  circuit.  But  the  progress 
of  the  work  here,  will  occupy  another  chapter. 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  247 


CHAPTER    XY1. 

PICKAWAY    CIRCUI  T— T  WO    YEARS. 

The  Pickaway  circuit,  at  this  time,  was  pretty 
large.  It  embraced  most  of  Pickaway  county,  and 
part  of  Franklin,  Ross,  and  Fairfield  counties.  We 
preached  at  Richmond,  Londonderry,  and  at  a  point 
six  miles  below  Chillicothe,  in  Ross,  came  up  to  Litho- 
polis  in  Fairfield,  and  to  Hopewell,  in  Franklin ;  in- 
cluding, of  course,  the  territory  now  occupied  by 
Kingston  and  Royalton  circuits,  and  Circleville 
station. 

Though  the  circuit  was  large,  the  country  had 
been  settled  longer,  and  the  roads  were  better,  than 
on  the  Delaware  circuit.  We  set  out  with  earnest- 
ness to  explore  the  ground,  to  ascertain  the  condition 
of  the  work,  and  to  get  ready  for  a  "  winter  cam- 
paign." We  had  sufficient  room  ;  and  upon  learning 
where  our  efforts  were  most  needed,  we  went  into 
it,  calculating  to  be  limited  in  our  exertions,  only 
by  our  capability  of  endurance.  The  blessing  of 
God  rested  upon  us,  and  our  labors  were  crowned 
with  success. 

In  the  month  of  February,  we  held  a  protracted 
meeting  in  Circleville.  As  our  meeting-house  was 
in  an   unfinished  state,  we  occupied  the  court-house. 


248  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

The  weather  was  extremely  cold.  As  I  was  adminis- 
tering the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  it  seemed 
to  me  that  my  fingers  would  freeze.  That  night  there 
was  a  move  in  the  congregation ;  we  called  for 
mourners,  and  they  came,  evincing  the  depth  and 
sincerity  of  their  convictions,  by  confessing  their  sins, 
and  pleading  earnestly  for  divine  mercy.  The  mem- 
bership came  up  delightfully,  "  to  the  help  of  the 
Lord,"  and  we  continued  the  meeting,  day  and 
night,  for  three  weeks.  Many  souls  were  born  into 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  We  closed  up  with  one 
hundred  and  twenty  accessions  to  the  Church.  This 
was  one  of  the  best  revivals  I  ever  had  in  any 
one  place. 

In  Royalton,  religion  was  at  a  low  ebb,  though 
there  were  some  good  members  in  society.  We  made 
arrangements  to  hold  a  protracted  meeting  with  them. 
The  services  commenced  on  Friday  night.  On  Sat- 
urday, we  had  preaching  at  11  o'clock,  and  in  the 
afternoon.  At  the  close  of  this  sermon,  I  sat  out  a 
bench,  and  invited  any  who  wished  an  interest  in  the 
prayers  of  the  Church,  to  come  forward.  There  was 
a  complete  rush;  many  started  from  the  back  part  of 
the  house,  and,  before  reaching  the  place  of  kneeling, 
some  threw  up  their  arms  and  cried  out,  "God  be 
merciful  to  me,  a  sinner !"  This  was  a  time  of  un- 
usual power.  Some  were  converted  in  the  space  of 
ten  minutes  from  the  time  they  approached  the  place 
of  prayer.  Many  were  enabled  to  say,  "  0  Lord,  I 
will  praise  thee:    for  though  thou  wast  angry  with 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  249 

me,  thine  anger  is  turned  away ;  and  now  thou  dost 
comfort  me."  The  whole  Church  were  made  to  rise 
and  shine,  their  light  being  come,  and  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  having  risen  upon  them.  I  never  knew  so 
many  conversions,  in  so  short  a  time,  under  similar 
circumstances. 

Some  do  not  believe  in  such  sudden  conversions; 
but  it  seems  to  me  we  ought  not  to  be  concerned 
about  the  manner  of  the  Lord's  work,  so  it  is  done, 
and  the  people  saved.  The  question  is  not  whether 
we  would  expect  God  to  work  powerfully  and  rapidly 
in  the  hearts  of  some,  but  whether  he  has  done  it. 
As  to  the  possibility  of  it,  there  can  be  no  question, 
for  we  dare  not  limit  the  Holy  One.  It  is,  therefore, 
simply  a  question  of  fact,  as  to  whether  he  ever  does 
produce  the  moral  change  in  the  soul  by  a  sudden 
manifestation  of  regenerating  power;  and  the  fact  is 
to  be  determined  by  the  experience  of  those  who 
profess  such  conversion,  and  not  by  the  experience, 
or  want  of  experience,  of  those  who  make  no  such 
profession.  And  it  is  not  at  all  improper  to  look  into 
the  Scriptures  for  precedents  in  this  matter.  If  God 
did  once  convert  sinners  suddenly,  he  may  do  so 
again.  Thus,  the  scenes  of  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
when  the  Gospel  ministry  was  fully  opened,  the  con- 
version of  Saul,  and  numerous  other  instances  of 
quick  conversions,  will  be  in  point.  But  just  here  I 
call  to  mind  a  conversation  had  with  a  person  who 
objected  to  so  much  "confusion."  Said  I,  "Do  you 
not  think  there  was  some  'confusion'  on  the  day  of 


250  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

Pentecost,  when  three  thousand  were  pricked  in  their 
hearts,  and  cried  out,  'Men  and  brethren,  what  shall 
we  do?'"  "0  yes,"  was  the  reply;  "but  then  that 
was  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  and  we  don't  look  for 
such  things  now."  "No,"  said  I,  "you  don't  look 
for  them,  and  you  don't  have  them;  for  the  Scrip- 
tural rule,  'according  to  your  faith,  so  be  it  unto 
you,'  is  perfectly  true;  but  we  do  look  for  them,  and 
we  do  experience  them."  Here  is  the  secret  of  the 
matter:  the  opposers  of  sudden  conversions  are  un- 
willing to  take  Scriptural  precedents;  they  do  not 
expect  such  conversions  as  are  recorded  in  the  New 
Testament;  they  do  not  look  for  them,  they  do  not 
desire  them,  and  hence  they  do  not  have  them;  and 
because  they  know  nothing  about  them,  in  their  unbe- 
lief, they  are  unwilling  to  credit  the  testimony  of 
those  who  claim  to  know.  Like  the  Jews  of  old, 
they  close  their  eyes  to  the  evidences  they  have,  and 
persistently  require  a  sign  from  heaven !  The  meet- 
ing in  Royalton  continued  several  days,  resulting  in 
over  twenty  accessions  to  the  Church.  I  then  invited 
all  who  felt  interested  in  having  a  house  of  worship, 
to  meet  me  at  the  school-house,  to  see  what  could  be 
done.  The  result  was,  we  had  a  good  church  built; 
and  now  they  have,  in  that  place,  a  parsonage,  and  it 
is  the  headquarters  of  the  circuit. 

We  had  an  old  church  about  four  miles  above  Chil- 
licothe,  in  the  Crouse  neighborhood,  which  was  called 
Lakin's  Chapel.  Near  this  lived  father  Crouse,  who 
was  getting  old — was  wealthy,  and  retiring  from  busi- 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  251 

ness.  He  was  building  a  house  in  Kingston,  a  beau- 
tiful little  village,  ten  miles  from  Chillicothe,  and  was 
very  anxious  to  have  a  Methodist  society  organized 
there.  After  conversing  with  the  old  gentleman  in 
relation  to  the  matter,  I  determined  to  establish  an 
appointment  in  the  place,  and  take  it  into  the  regular 
plan  of  the  circuit.  We  collected  a  few  members 
who  lived  in  the  vicinity,  formed  a  small  class,  and 
God  added  to  their  numbers  by  happy  conversions; 
so  that,  before  the  year  closed,  we  had  a  society  of 
forty  members,  sweetly  united  in  spirit,  worshiping 
God,  and  walking  in  the  light  of  his  truth.  But 
more  of  this  hereafter. 

I  was  especially  interested  in  the  society  on  Little 
Walnut,  before  alluded  to  as  the  Hopewell  appoint- 
ment on  Groveport  circuit.  This  was  a  large,  flour- 
ishing society,  established,  in  a  very  early  day,  by 
Rev.  James  Quinn.  Here  were  parents,  children,  and 
grandchildren,  all  united  in  Church  fellowship,  and 
laboring  to  sustain  the  Church  by  building  up  the 
cause  of  religion  at  home,  and  by  contributing  to 
her  benevolent  operations  abroad.  I  have  been  inti- 
mately acquainted  in  this  neighborhood  for  twenty- 
six  years,  and  it  gives  me  peculiar  pleasure  to  look 
over  the  past  and  review  my  associations  with  this 
people.  As  in  every  other  neighborhood,  time  has 
wrought  many  changes. .  Some  of  the  older  members 
have  died  in  the  faith  and  gone  to  heaven,  some  have 
emigrated  to  the  far  west,  others  have  built  a  neat 
brick   church,   and  now   worship   at   Locust   Grove, 


252  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

about  two  miles  from  Hopewell;  but  still  there  is  a. 
goodly  company  left,  who,  retaining  the  spirit  of  their 
fathers,  "walk  by  the  same  rule,  minding  the  same 
things"  These  have  a  good  house  of  worship,  keep 
it  neat  and  clean,  attend  regularly  the  means  of  grace, 
bestow  proper  attention  upon  the  Sabbath  school, 
and  never  fail  to  meet  their  proportion  of  circuit 
expenses ;  but,  in  doing  this,  the  leaders  have  to  put 
their  hands  pretty  deeply  into  their  own  pockets. 
They  calculate  to  "foot  the  bill,"  whatever  it  may 
be  after  having  made  their  regular  collections.  But 
this  noble  generosity  on  the  part  of  official  members 
sometimes  operates  injuriously,  not  to  the  general 
cause,  but  to  particular  individuals.  Members  come 
to  think  it  matters  little  whether  they  pay  their  "little 
mite"  or  not;  the  demands  will  all  be  met,  at  any 
rate;  the  society  will  not  suffer  in  credit,  nor  the 
preachers  in  pocket,  though  they  hold  on  to  their 
pittance ;  thus  virtually  taking  it  out  of  their  neigh- 
bor's pocket!  "It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive ;"  and  those  who  neglect  their  own  duty  be- 
cause others  are  more  liberal  than  themselves,  rob 
their  own  souls  of  the  richest  benedictions  of  Heaven. 
At  my  first  visit  to  Lithopolis,  I  met  with  Dr. 
Minor,  with  whom  I  had  formed  a  slight  acquaintance 
in  Vermont.  The  Doctor  showed  me  no  little  kind- 
ness; and,  from  that  day  to  this,  I  have  been  made 
welcome  to  the  hospitality  of  his  house,  whenever  I 
visited  that  place.  He  has  shown  himself  a  substan- 
tial friend,  and  I  trust  he  will  yet  obtain  the  mercy 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  253 

of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal  life.  We  had  a 
good  society  in  that  place ;  but  Methodism  has  found 
much  to  contend  with  in  that  region.  The  population 
was  made  up,  in  good  part,  of  German  Lutherans, 
whose  prejudices  against  Methodism  were  very  strong. 
Many  of  them  were  good  citizens,  and  exerted  a  pow- 
erful influence  in  the  community.  Nevertheless,  some 
such  have  been  converted,  and  now  form  the  bone  and 
sinew  of  the  Methodist  Church.  It  is  by  no  means 
uncommon  that  persons  educated  in  an  opposite  faith, 
and  taught  to  hate  Methodism  from  their  youth,  when 
they  experience  an  evangelical  conversion,  become 
her  warmest  admirers,  and  most  unflinching  sup- 
porters. 

During  this  year,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  attending 
several  camp  meetings.  The  first  was  a  very  good 
meeting,  held  in  conjunction  with  Rev.  E.  H.  Field, 
of  the  Adelphi  circuit,  for  the  benefit  of  his  charge 
and  mine.  From  this,  in  company  with  the  presid- 
ing elder,  I  went  to  one  on  the  Deer  Creek  circuit, 
held  on  the  old  camp-ground  at  White  Brown's.  Old 
brother  Brown  and  his  companion  were  pioneers  in 
Methodism  ;  they  were  emphatically  "  old-fashioned 
Methodists;"  for  many  long  years  their  house  stood 
open  to  receive  the  toiling  itinerant,  and  many  of 
the  old  soldiers  have  been  refreshed  and  gladdened 
within  their  truly  Christian  habitation.  But  now 
they  dwell  in  the  "house  not  made  with  hands,"  and 
their  children,  rising  up  to  call  them  blessed,  delight 
to    follow  their   godly  example.     The   meeting   was 


254  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

such  as  were  only  witnessed  in  the  tented  grove,  when 
Christians  met  to  worship  in  the  simplicity  of  true 
devotion.  From  this,  I  accompanied  brother  Collins 
to  a  similar  meeting  in  the  Hillsboro  circuit.  This 
was  held  on  the  old  Rattlesnake  camp-ground, 
under  the  direction  of  Revs.  G.  Maley  and  G.  W. 
Walker,  circuit  preachers.  This  also  was  a  season 
of  great  interest  and  power.  The  people  present  on 
Sabbath  were  estimated  at  seven  thousand.  The 
presiding  elder  appointed  me  to  preach  that  day  at 
eleven  o'clock.  Why  he  did  so,  I  can  not  tell — per- 
haps it  was  because  I  was  a  stranger  in  that  part, 
and  had  a  clear,  strong  voice.  The  latter  was  a  quali- 
fication by  no  means  unessential,  on  such  an  occa- 
sion. During  the  day,  the  attention  was  good,  con- 
sidering the  vast  numbers  on  the  ground;  and  the 
interest  increased  as  the  meeting  advanced,  till  one 
hundred  and  forty  gave  their  names  as  probationers 
for  membership,  before  the  services  closed.  The 
membership  were  not  there  to  vie  with  each  other 
in  displaying  fine  clothing  and  setting  extravagant 
tables,  but  to  worship  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac, 
of  Jacob,  and  of  Moses,  in  the  wilderness,  and  to 
labor  for  the  salvation  of  precious,  blood-bought  sin- 
ners. God  was  there  in  very  deed,  and  his  word 
was  with  power. 

On  returning  to  my  circuit,  I  found  the  good  work 
still  prospering.  I  received  between  three  and  four 
hundred  on  trial  that  year,  most  of  whom  stood  fast 
in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel.     It  was  a  blessed  year. 


A     SUPERANNUATE..  255 

I  look  back  upon  it  with  gratitude  to  God,  who 
poured  out  his  blessing  so  freely  upon  my  humble 
efforts,  making  them  instrumental  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  good.  6i  We  have  this  treasure  in  earthern 
vessels,  that  the  excellence  of  the  power  may  be  of 
God,  and  not  of  us."  To  his  name  be  the  glory 
forever !    Amen. 

The  quarterage  claims  were  all  met.  "When  the 
hearts  of  the  people  are  open  to  receive  Christ,  the 
spirit  of  liberality  prevails  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  management  of  the  financial  concerns  of  the 
Church  becomes  an  easy  matter.  The  people  were 
alive  in  religion,  and  not  backward  to  duty ;  abound- 
ing in  the  other  graces,  they  abounded  also  in  the 
grace  of  liberality.  Committing  my  flock  to  the 
care  of  the  great  Shepherd  above,  I  made  ready  for 
another  session  of  conference.  This  was  held,  Sep- 
tember 8,  1831,  in  Mansfield,  Ohio,  Bishop  Hedding 
presiding. 

The  reports  at  this  conference  showed  that  the 
year  had  been  one  of  general  prosperity,  there  being 
over  four  thousand  of  an  increase  in  our  bounds. 
My  heart  prompts  me  to  speak  of  the  Bishop — but 
since  Dr.  Clark  has  given  so  faithful  a  portraiture 
of  the  man,  of  his  life  and  times,  all  of  which  every 
one  acquainted  with  him  can  fully  indorse — such  a 
notice  as  I  could  give  would  be  superfluous.  The 
session  was  a  very  pleasant  one.  I  was  returned  to 
Pickaway  circuit,  with  Rev.  Jacob  Dixon  for  my  col- 
league.    He  was   an   excellent  preacher,   possessed 


256  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

considerable  talent,  but  was  wanting  in  economy ;  lie 
therefore  found  much  trouble  in  supporting  his  fam- 
ily on  the  income  allotted  to  a  Methodist  preacher. 
Our  presiding  elder  this  year  was  Rev.  Augustus 
Eddy.  He  is  well  known  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  as  a 
faithful,  laborious  minister  of  the  Gospel.  In  1831, 
he  was  in  the  vigor  of  life ;  he  was  humble,  devoted, 
persevering — beloved  by  the  preachers  of  his  district, 
and  highly  esteemed  among  the  people.  He  is  yet 
upon  the  walls  of  Zion  in  Indiana  —  but  doubtless 
begins  to  feel  the  advances  of  age,  and  looks  for- 
ward to  his  discharge  from  the  militant  service,  as 
not  very  distant.  He  has  done  a  goodly  share  of 
pioneer  work,  contributed  much  to  the  advancement 
of  religion  where  he  has  labored,  and  his  name  will 
live,  richly  embalmed  in  the  affections  of  children's 
children,  when  he  shall  rest  from  his  labors,  in  the 
paradise  of  God.  "  The  memory  of  the  just  is 
blessed." 

Father  Crouse  had  now  moved  into  Kingston,  and 
was  laboring  with  a  large  heart  for  the  advantage  of 
the  Church.  He  purchased  a  house  and  two  lots,  put 
up  an  addition  to  the  house,  built  a  stable,  and  then 
gave  it  all  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The 
citizens  had,  several  years  before,  erected  a  brick 
building,  which  was  partly  finished,  and  used  for 
public  business,  schools,  preaching,  etc.  Father 
Crouse  bought  it,  remodeled  and  enlarged  it,  making 
it  suitable  for  the  worship  of  God,  and  deeded  it  to 
the  Church.     In   this  he  might  have  received  some 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  257 

small  contributions  from  others,  but  the  main  expense 
was  borne  by  himself.  The  Lakin  Chapel  was  getting 
old,  and,  on  account  of  the  burying-ground  con- 
nected with  it,  father  Crouse  was  anxious  to  have  it 
kept  up ;  he  therefore  gave  fifteen  hundred  dollars  for 
building  a  new  house  at  that  place.  After  distribut- 
ing these  and  other  munificent  benefactions,  the  old 
man  fell  asleep  in  Jesus ;  but  his  name  and  his  works 
still  live.  "  The  righteous  shall  be  had  in  everlast- 
ing remembrance." 

Not  the  least  responsible  part  of  our  work,  this 
year,  was  the  training,  indoctrinating,  Methodizing 
the  converts  of  the  previous  year.  These  generally 
did  well ;  some  became  useful  members,  and  some, 
ere  this,  have  finished  their  course,  and  "passed, 
through  death,  triumphant  home."  We  were  favored 
with  some  prosperity  this  year.  Souls  were  con- 
verted at  several  places. 

At  one   point,  the   members   neglected   to   attend 

class.     I  visited    the    delinquents,   admonished  them 

of  the  error  of  their  ways,  pleaded  with  them  to  come 

up  to  the  work,  and  be   Methodists — but   all  to  no 

purpose ;  they  seemed   intent  on  breaking  down  the 

rule  on  that   subject,  so  far  as   they  were   concerned. 

I  then  cited  them  to  appear  before  the  society,  and 

give  a  reason  for  their  course ;  they  did  not  appear. 

I  then  read  the  clause  of  Discipline,  bearing  on  the 

case,  and  called  upon  those  who  believed  the  accused 

were   guilty  of  violating  the  rule,  to  manifest  it  by 

raising  their  hand — not  a  hand  was  raised.    "What!" 

22 


258  KECOLLECTIONS     OF 

said  I,  "are  persons  not  guilty  of  breach  of  rule? 
who  absent  themselves  from  class  for  six  months,  and 
then  refuse  to  assign  any  reason  when  called  upon?" 
I  informed  them,  that,  as  I  differed  from  them  in 
judgment,  I  should  refer  the  case  to  the  quarterly 
conference.  But,  rather  than  have  the  case  referred, 
they  reconsidered  their  action,  and  voted  them 
guilty;  the  delinquents  were,  accordingly,  set  aside 
for  breach  of  rule.  This  case  illustrates  the  import- 
ance of  the  rule  which  gives  the  preacher  the  power 
of  reference,  when  he  disagrees  with  the  majority, 
before  whom  the  accused  person  is  brought.  But  for 
the  existence  of  it,  these  notoriously  delinquent  per- 
sons would  have  been  retained  in  the  Church,  through 
the  influence  of  merely  personal  partiality,  or  local 
prejudice. 

Down,  on  the  southern  end  of  the  work,  I  found 
several  excellent  families,  of  whom  I  would  like  to 
speak,  did  space  permit.  Old  brother  King  and  his 
whole  family  were  of  the  right  stamp.  Here,  also, 
were  the  Joneses,  Gundys,  Buns,  Orrs,  and  many 
others — all  striving  for  the  "better  land."  I  shall 
never  forget  their  kindnesses  and  Christian  fellow- 
ship. They  loved  God  and  his  Church — stood  up  for 
Methodism  in  its  primitive  simplicity;  and  sustained 
me  nobly  in  the  administration  of  Discipline.  But, 
soon  the  grave  will  close  over  the  last  of  the  old 
stock. 

"  On  this  side,  and  on  that,  we  see  our  friends 
Drop  off,  like  leaves  in  -autumn  !" 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  259 

I  call  up  the  pleasing  sensations  experienced  in 
conversation  "with  these  old  friends,  and  can  scarcely 
realize,  that  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  dropped  into 
eternity,  since  their  familiar  faces  and  friendly 
voices  cheered  my  heart;  but,  so  it  is;  time,  like  an 
ever-flowing  stream,  moves  swiftly  on,  bearing  us 
rapidly  to  the  ocean  of  eternity !  At  the  close  of 
my  second  year,  I  found  myself  even  more  attached 
to  the  people  than  ever  before.  I  gave  to  many  the 
parting  hand,  to  meet  no  more  on  earth.  Some  have 
made  a  good  escape  from  earth — some  still  linger, 
amid  the  storms  of  this  tempestuous  world,  looking 
out,  in  cheerful  hope,  to  the  clime  where  all  is  calm 
and  sunshine;  but,  perchance,  others  have  made 
shipwreck  of  faith,  and  are  now  stumbling  upon 
the  dark  mountains ! 


"  Brief  time, 
Advances  quick,  in  tread  ;  few  hours,  and  dark, 
Remain :  those  hours,  in  frivolous  employ, 
Waste  not  impertinent ;   they  ne'er  return  ! 
Nor  deem  it  dullness  to  stand  still,  and  pause, 
When  dread  eternity  has  claims  so  high." 


260  RECOLLECTIONS      OF 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

DEER    CREEK    CIRCUIT  — TWO    YEARS. 

In  September,  1832,  I  received  my  appointment  to 
Deer  Creek  circuit,  with  brother  J.  A.  Reader,  for  my 
colleague.  Brother  Reader  was  a  pleasant  companion, 
a  good  man,  and  an  acceptable  preacher.  I  moved 
my  family  to  Old  Town — now  Frankfort — in  Ross 
county. 

The  circuit  was  large,  but  in  good  condition ;  our 
predecessors,  J.  H.  Power  and  J.  Gurley,  were  dili- 
gent workers,  and  left  the  charge  as  it  should  be. 
The  territory  is  now  divided  into  Frankfort,  New 
Holland,  and  Deer  Creek  circuits — each  sustaining 
two  preachers,  and  affording  work  enough  to  keep 
them  well  employed.  The  village  of  Old  Town  was 
one  of  the  oldest  places  in  that  part  of  the  country ; 
it  occupied  the  site  of  an  Indian  village,  and  was 
originally  called  Chillicothe.  Methodism  was  planted 
there  in  an  early  day,  by  some  of  the  pioneers  who 
penetrated  the  wilderness,  upon  the  very  heels  of  the 
first  settlers,  and  preached  Christ  to  them,  in  their 
yet  unfinished  cabins.  We  found  there  a  good  society 
of  plain  Methodists — some  of  them  wealthy  and  lib- 
eral ;  indeed,  the  membership  on  the  circuit  generally, 
would  compare  favorably  with  that  of  any  other  field. 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  261 

The   members    flocked   around   us,  giving  us  a  most 
cheering  reception.     The  steward,  living  in  the  place, 
called  and  inquired  whether  we  would  like  any  finan- 
cial aid  before  the  quarterly  meeting ;  and  thus,  in  the 
very  outset,  we  were   inspired  with   confidence,  and 
impressed,  favorably,  toward  the  people  of  the  charge. 
And,   how  delightful  to  the  itinerant,  on  leaving  an 
affectionate  people,  and  moving  among  strangers,  to 
be    greeted    with    such    manifestations    of    Christian 
regard !     Would  that  all  our  people  understood  how 
much    depends   on  this !     If  the    membership    would 
call  upon  the  preachers,  immediately  upon  their  arri- 
val— show  them  a  cheerful  countenance — lend  them  a 
helping  hand,  in  settling  in  their  new  home,  exhibit- 
ing  the   religion   they  profess,    they  would  be  much 
more   likely    to   have   preachers   with    frank,    warm 
hearts,    strongly    attached  to  their    flocks,  than    by 
pursuing  the  course  which  is  now   far   too  common. 
People    often   complain  that  their  preachers  do  not 
visit  them  enough.     I  wish  to  say  that,  in  my  judg- 
ment, there  is  nothing  so  well  calculated  to  induce  a 
preacher  to  come  up  to  the  line  of  duty,  in   the  way 
of  pastoral  visiting,  as  the  simple  and   easy  method 
above  indicated,  of  making  him  feel  at  home,  when  he 
first  arrives  upon  his  circuit  or  station.     And,  on  the 
other   hand,  there  is    nothing   which  so  discourages 
him,  and   renders  this    duty    embarrassing,  and    un- 
pleasant, as  to  leave  him  to  hunt  up  his  strange  mem- 
bers,  and    thrust   himself    upon    their    acquaintance, 
without  any  previous  knowledge  as  to  whether  they 


262  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

desire  it  or  not.  Preachers  are  but  men ;  and,  many 
of  them  start  in  the  work  with  timidity  and  embar- 
rassment ;  and,  being  held  at  a  distance,  by  the  peo- 
ple, or  compelled  to  put  themselves  forward,  to  seek 
acquaintance  with  the  members,  and  then  finding 
much  formality  and  stiffness  of  manners  to  encounter, 
confirms,  in  them,  habits  of  backwardness,  and  ac- 
tual dislike  to  this  most  important,  and  what  should 
be  the  most  pleasing,  part  of  their  work.  These  re- 
marks are  made  after  years  of  experience  and  obser- 
vation ;  and  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  reform  is 
needed,  and  that  reform,  on  the  part  of  the  people, 
will  be  speedily'  followed  by  reform  on  the  part  of 
the  pastors. 

Shortly  after    locating  my  family  in    Old    Town, 

the   Rev.  Mr.  J ,  of  the  Baptist  Church,  called 

upon  me,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  be  friendly  with 
all  denominations.  We  conversed  together  freely, 
and  with  much  interest,  on  the  subject  of  religion. 
He  informed  me  that  he  had  abandoned  the  old 
doctrine  of  limited  atonement,  and  believed  that 
Christ  died  for  all — that  all  might  be  saved  if  they 
would.  Thus  far  we  agreed  well.  But  he  went  on 
to  say  that  men  have  natural  ability  to  repent  and 
believe  the  Gospel.  Here  I  was  compelled  to  dis- 
sent. I  could  not  believe  that  fallen,  depraved 
human  nature,  possessed  any  such  excellent  capa- 
bility— for  I  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrine  of 
total  depravity.  I  believed  the  words  of  Christ, 
"Without  me,  ye  can  do  nothing."     I  told  him  that 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  263 

if  men  have  natural  ability  to  perform  the  moral 
duties  they  owe  to  God,  they  might  exercise  that 
natural  ability  and  go  to  heaven  "without  grace.  He 
still  insisted  that  we  have  "  natural  ability."  I  told 
him  that  if  he  meant  by  that  phrase  —  physical 
ability — to  chop  wood,  or  to  lift  a  man  out  or  thrust 
him  into  the  gutter,  I  would  acknowledge  that  we 
have  it;  but  even  this  we  have  through  the  atone- 
ment of  Christ,  to  whom  we  owe  all  we  have,  and 
it  is  therefore  of  grace,  after  all,  "  and  not  of  works, 
lest  any  man  should  boast."  He  then  said  he  be- 
lieved, as  he  heard  me  preach  a  few  evenings  before, 
that  religion  was  the  one  thing  needful,  and  that 
it  is  a  matter  of  choice,  "  but  the  change  comes 
before,"  said  he.  Here  is  a  strange  paradox : 
Religion  is  a  matter  of  choice — but  the  heart  must 
be  changed  before  the  choice  can  be  made.  This 
is  much  like  the  common  blunder  of  Calvinists,  in 
placing  regeneration  before  faith.  I  pointed  him 
to  a  water-mill,  with  its  ponderous  wheel  moving 
beneath  the  running  stream.  Said  I,  "  That  wheel 
appears  to  move  freely,  but  a  glance  at  the  impell- 
ing cause  found  in  the  current  above,  shows  that 
its  motion  is  necessitated ;  and  this  is  the  sort  of 
freedom  you  allow  to  man.  Religion  is  a  matter  of 
choice,  but  the  choice  can  not  be  made  till  God 
changes  the  heart — that  is,  man  has  the  power  of 
choice  after  his  heart  is  changed,  but  has  no  such 
power  antecedent  to  the  change ;  what  then  becomes 
of  your  natural  ability — what  is  it  all  worth  ?"     We 


264  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

conversed  on  many  points  of  doctrine,  sometimes 
seeing  alike,  and  sometimes  not.  Old-fashioned, 
unadulterated  Calvinism,  which  disrobes  man  of  all 
moral  freedom,  and  degrades  him  to  the  pitiful  con- 
dition of  absolute  passivity,  may  be  arranged  into 
a  harmonious  system,  though  it  be  without  any  true 
foundation  to  rest  upon ;  but  when  men  attempt 
to  modify  it — to  throw  out  the  repulsive  parts, 
and  introduce  some  truth  into  it — they  mar  its 
harmony,  and  present  a  conglomeration  of  incon- 
gruities. There  is  no  middle  ground  between  Calvin- 
ism and  Arminianism.  Man  is  free  or  bound,  the 
atonement  is  limited  or  universal,  the  decrees  of  God 
are  absolute  or  conditional ;  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  modifying  the  old-fashioned  absolutism  of  Calvin 
and  Augustine,  so  as  to  blend  it  with  some  of  the 
great  truths  of  the  Gospel.  Truth  and  error  will 
not  blend ;  there  is  between  them  an  irreconcilable 
enmity,  and  whenever  they  are  brought  in  contact, 
the  antagonism  will  show  itself.  Men  may  talk  as 
much  as  they  please  about  moderate  Calvinists, 
modified  Calvinism,  etc.;  I  want  none  of  it,  unless 
I  take  it  all.  None  of  the  modern  improvements  on 
the  out-and-out  predestinarianism  of  Calvin,  could 
get  a  foot-hold  in  his  day  ;  one  glance  of  his  mighty 
intellect  would  detect  the  adulteration,  and  one 
stroke  of  his  masterly  logic  was  sufficient  to  banish 
it  forever.  Surely,  if  the  old  man  were  living,  and 
could  examine  the  mixtures  of  theology,  with  which 
his  name  is  associated,  and   in  support  of  which  his 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  265 

learning,  piety,  and  zeal  are  invoked,  lie  would  cry- 
out  in  righteous  indignation  against  the  abuse. 

"We  found  plenty  to  do  on  the  circuit;  but  to 
particularize,  would  be  but  to  detail  the  every-day 
life  of  the  Methodist  preacher,  much  of  which  has 
already  been  done.  Much  of  the  same  variety  of 
riding  in  the  cold  and  heat,,  wet  and  dry,  and  find- 
ing good,  bad,  and  medium  accommodations,  with 
the  labor  of  preaching,  praying,  visiting,  etc.,  which 
made  up  former  years,  occupied  us  during  our  stay 
on  this  circuit.  We  had  a  camp  meeting  near  New 
Holland ;  but,  though  it  was  a  good  meeting,  I 
remember  nothing  that  transpired  worthy  of  special 
record. 

The  Kev.  Charles  C.  Lybrand  was  my  colleague  in 
Deer  Creek  circuit,  the  second  year.  He  is  still  in 
the  active  work  of  the  ministry — an  amiable,  con- 
sistent Methodist  preacher.  "We  labored  together  in 
great  harmony,  and  with  reasonable  success.  We 
took  in  a  new  preaching-place  this  year,  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Williamsport.  This  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
New-Light  community.  (I  intend  no  disrespect  in 
using  this  term;  the  word  "  Christian"  is  too  general 
to  be  distinctive.)  After  preaching  several  times  in 
a  cabin,  where  we  were  cramped  for  room,  I  was 
invited  to  preach  in  the  New-Light  church.  To  this 
I  consented,  with  the  understanding  that  I  should 
feel  at  full  liberty  to  preach  the  doctrine  of  our 
Church,  without  hinderance.  Accordingly  I  an- 
nounced that  at  such  a  time,  I  would  preach  on  the 
23 


266  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

Deity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  term  deity 
was  used  in  preference  to  divinity,  because  many 
that  regard  the  Savior  as  a  created,  dependent  being, 
call  him  divine,  because  he  was  divinely  inspired,  as 
were  Moses,  Elijah,  Isaiah,  and  Paul.  A  large  audi- 
ence assembled,  including  four  or  five  "Christian" 
preachers,  with  paper  and  pencils  to  take  notes.  My 
sermon  was  much  the  same  as  the  one  the  substance 
of  which  is  given  in  this  work.  Rev.  Mr.  Harvey 
said,  at  the  close,  that  he  was  to  have  replied  to  the 
discourse,  but  the  house  was  so  full  and  the  weather 
so  warm,  he  thought  best  to  postpone  the  reply  for 
three  weeks.  He  then  said,  "  If  I  do  not  show  that 
Christ  is  a  distinct  being  from  the  Father,  we  will 
give  it  up."  I  immediately  remarked,  "You  must 
disprove  that  Christ  is  God,  or  it  will  be  no  reply  to 
my  discourse."  The  time  came,  and  a  large  congre- 
gation assembled.  Mr.  H.  spent  nearly  two  hours 
in  proving  that  Christ  was  the  Son  of  God,  and  in 
some  sense  distinct  from,  and  inferior  to,  the  Father. 
This  he  called  a  refutation  of  my  discourse.  I  rose 
and  remarked,  "It  is  too  evident  to  be  called  in 
question,  that  Mr.  H.  is  blessed  with  the  gift  of 
continuance ;  he  has  spent  nearly  two  hours  in  his 
professed  reply,  which  is  no  reply  at  all  to  what  I 
advanced.  I  dwelt  on  the  Deity  of  Christ ;  he  dwelt 
on  the  humanity  of  Christ.  I  proved  that  Christ  is 
God;  he  has  been  proving  that  Christ  is  man:  this 
he  calls  a  refutation!  To  illustrate:  Suppose  I 
deliver  a  discourse  proving  that  the  soul  of  man  is 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  267 

immortal,  and  Mr.  H.  proposes  to  refute  it;  he  pro- 
ceeds to  prove  that  the  body  is  mortal,  and  calls  that 
a  refutation  of  my  argument;  would  you  admit  his 
claim  to  be  legitimate  ?  It  could  not  be  a  refutation, 
because  both  positions  are  correct — and  they  are  not 
incompatible ;  so  in  this  case,  Christ  is  both  God 
and  man;  and  proving  him  man  no  more  disproves 
that  he  is  God,  than  proving  the  body  mortal  dis- 
proves the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Here  are  two 
distinct  points  of  doctrine.  I  dwelt  on  one,  and  Mr. 
H.  on  the  other;  but  both  are  equally  true!"  I 
then  noticed  a  few  points  in  his  argument  which  I 
thought  deserved  attention,  and  closed.  One  point  I 
will  give:  Mr.  H.  called  up  the  common  objection 
to  his  hypothesis,  that  if  Christ  be  not  God,  we  can 
not  worship  him  without  being  guilty  of  idolatry. 
Said  he,  "We  do  worship  Christ,  and  we  have  no 
fears  of  being  accounted  idolaters  therefor — because 
God  commands  us  to  worship  him."  "That  is  an 
excellent  thought,"  said  I.  "Just  look  at  it:  God 
says,  'Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and 
him  only  shalt  thou  serve,'  but  he  also  commands  us 
to  worship  Christ — therefore  Christ  is  God,  or  we 
are  commanded  to  worship  what  is  not  God ! ' 

We  succeeded  in  organizing  a  good  society  in  the 
place;  now  they  have  a  pretty  good  Church,  and 
stand  as  a  prominent  point  on  the  circuit.  The 
truth — Bible  truth,  will  prevail;  it  has  God  for  its 
author,  and  salvation  for  its  end;  it  will  become  a 
savor  of  life  unto  life,  or  of  death  unto  death. 


268  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

In  conclusion,  I  will  say  that  the  two  years  spent 
on  Deer  Creek  circuit,  were  pleasant  years  to  me, 
and  not  altogether  without  prosperity.  Since  then  1 
have  frequently  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  with 
some  of  the  old  friends  on  that  circuit,  and  their 
cordial  press  of  the  hand  always  betokened  the  sin- 
cerity of  their  friendship.  I  shall  ever  cultivate  the 
memory  of  their  kindness  while  with  them,  and  hope 
to  meet  them  again  in  heaven. 

"  This  glorious  hope  revives 

Our  courage  by  the  way  j 
While  each  in  expectation  lives, 

And  longs  to  see  the  day. 
From  sorrow,  toil,  and  pain, 

And  sin,  we  shall  be  free ; 
And  perfect  love  and  friendship  reign 

Through  all  eternity." 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  269 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ONE  YEAR  WITHOUT  REGULAR  WORK. 

In  September,  1834,  our  conference  sat  in  Circle- 
ville.  At  this  session,  I  asked  to  be  left  without  an 
appointment,  on  account  of  family  afflictions.  My 
oldest  son  had  been  suffering  from  pulmonary  con- 
sumption for  about  fourteen  months ;  his  wife  was  dis- 
abled, through  ill  health,  from  giving  him  the  atten- 
tion he  needed;  and  their  means  were  exhausted,  so 
that  they  could  not  provide  for  themselves.  It  was 
clearly  my  duty  to  take  care  of  them;  but  this  I 
could  not  do,  and,  at  the  same  time,  perform  regular 
pastoral  work.  I  was  wanted  for  Portsmouth  station ; 
but  a  station  I  never  desired.  However,  I  should 
have  felt  it  my  duty  to  fill,  as  well  as  possible,  any 
appointment  assigned  me  by  the  appointing  power,  if 
sickness  had  not  interfered. 

The  request  excited  some  debate  in  the  conference. 
Some  were  opposed  to  granting  it,  because  they  saw 
no  Disciplinary  provision  for  such  a  case.  I  was  not, 
myself,  worn-out  or  disabled,  and  did  not  want  a 
superannuated  or  a  supernumerary  relation  to  the 
conference;  but  that,  while  my  name  stood  upon  the 
effective  list,  I  should  simply  be  left  without  an  ap- 
pointment.    Some  of  my  best  friends  thought  it  con- 


270  KECOLLECTIONS    OF 

trary  to  our  economy  to  grant  such  a  request — that 
it  would  establish  a  bad  precedent,  etc. ;  but  the  ma- 
jority were  of  opinion  that  if  there  were  no  Disci- 
plinary provision  made  expressly  for  such  cases,  it  was 
clearly  within  the  discretionary  power  of  the  confer- 
ence to  grant  the  request,  and  that  it  ought  to  be 
done ;  they  voted  accordingly,  and  I  was  left  at  lib- 
erty to  bestow  all  my  attention  upon  the  wants  and 
afflictions  of  my  family.  I  immediately  proceeded  to 
the  residence  of  my  son,  settled  up  his  business,  and 
moved  him  and  family  home  to  my  own  house.  It 
was  now  our  daily  concern  to  make  him  as  comfort- 
able as  possible,  the  short  time  he  had  to  live.  He 
lingered  with  us,  suffering  and  rejoicing,  till  the 
24th  of  March,  1835,  when  he  pushed  off  "  life's 
ambiguous  shore,"  in  full  prospect  of  a  better  inher- 
itance beyond  the  grave.  His  last  words  were  those 
of  the  poet — 

"  Never  will  I  remove 
Out  of " 

Here  his  voice  failed,  and  he  uttered  no  more.  The 
whole  verse  which  he  attempted  to  quote,  reads — 

"  Never  will  I  remove 

Out  of  his  hands  my  cause ; 

But  rest  in  thy  redeeming  love, 

And  hang  upon  thy  cross." 

Thus  departed  our  first-born,  in  the  32d  year  of  his 
age.  To  those  who  never  experienced  a  like  afflic- 
tion, I  would  say,  you    know  not   the    sorrow,  the 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  271 

crushing  anguish  that  parents  feel,  upon  the  loss  of  a 
son  or  daughter.  You  may  imagine  you  sympathize 
with  them,  but  you  can  not  realize  the  bereavement 
of  their  hearts.  But  then,  there  is  One  whose  eye 
can  see  the  silent  workings  of  the  soul,  behold  all  the 
unuttered  grief;  who  looks  upon  the  secret  springs 
of  sorrow,  and  always  looks  with  tenderness.  There 
is  One  whose  heart  can  feel  the  very  depth  of  hu- 
man woe,  whose  compassion  is  infinite,  whose  sym- 
pathy is  divine ;  to  him  we  looked  for  succor,  and  we 
looked  not  in  vain :  "  For  he  doth  not  afflict  willingly, 
nor  grieve  the  children  of  men."  Our  hearts  were 
truly  stricken  and  sorrowful ;  but  we  sung — 

"  Courage,  my  soul ;  thy  bitter  cross, 
In  every  trial  here, 
Shall  bear  thee  to  thy  heaven  above, 
But  shall  not  enter  there. 


The  sighing  ones,  that  humbly  seek 
In  sorrowing  paths  below, 

Shall  in  eternity  rejoice, 
Where  endless  comforts  flow." 


Without  faith  in  divine  Providence,  we  should  have 
been  utterly  desolate  and  comfortless;  but,  knowing 
that  God  is  too  wise  to  err,  too  powerful  to  be  de- 
feated, and  too  good  to  be  unkind,  we  bowed  in  sub- 
mission to  this  stroke,  sayiog,  "Thy  will  be  done." 
If  his  wisdom  sees,  his  goodness  provides,  and  his 
power  executes,  what  is  best,  why  should  we  not  trust 
in  him  and  not  be  afraid? 

I  was  now  at  liberty  to  go  out  into  the  field,  and 


272  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

join  the  brethren  in  the  " battle-cry."  In  company 
with  brother  Eddy,  I  attended  quarterly  meeting  in 
Columbus — preached  twice  during  the  meeting ;  once 
from  John  xv,  14,  and  again  from  the  4th  Psalm. 
On  Sabbath,  brother  Eddy  preached  a  powerful  ser- 
mon. The  power  of  the  Lord  was  in  the  assembly  to 
apply  the  word,  and  good  was  done  in  the  name  of 
Christ.  Brother  Eddy  being  detained  on  Church  busi- 
ness, I  went  on  to  his  next  quarterly  meeting,  which 
was  in  Granville.  I  preached  on  Saturday,  from  Phil. 
ir  6:  "Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  he 
which  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you,  will  perform  it 
till  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ."  On  Sabbath,  at  11 
o'clock,  I  dwelt  upon  2  Timothy  ii,  19.  This  was 
one  of  my  happiest  visits  to  Granville.  I  shall  never 
forget  it.  Brother  Joseph  Carper  was  on  this  work, 
and  had  been  favored  with  considerable  revival  influ- 
ence. This  meeting  wound  up  with  a  fine  ingathering 
of  souls,  and  I  trust  many  of  them  will  land  safely 
in  the  better  world.  During  the  meeting,  we  went 
down  to  the  creek  and  administered  baptism  to  eight 
or  ten  persons.  Leaving  Granville,  I  went  to  New- 
ark, where  I  preached  from  Jeremiah  viii,  22.  This 
was  a  very  good  meeting.  Here  I  met  with  brother 
L.  White,  then  stationed  in  Lancaster.  LTpon  invita- 
tion from  him,  I  attended  his  quarterly  meeting  the 
next  Saturday  and  Sabbath.  It  was  a  profitable  sea- 
son. I  endeavored  to  expound  Luke  xiii,  24.  From 
this  place,  I  accompanied  brother  Eddy  to  a  camp 
meeting,  below  Kingston.     The  meeting  was  a  de- 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  273 

lightful  one,  although  my  own  enjoyments  were  not 
so  good  as  usual. 

I  now  returned  home,  and  assisted  the  preachers 
on  the  circuit  where  my  family  lived,  in  holding  pro- 
tracted meetings,  etc.,  till  conference.  It  was  to 
me  a  year  of  sacrifice,  toil,  and  affliction;  but  I  felt 
that  I  was  in  the  line  of  duty,  and  therefore  in  the 
path  of  safety.  In  the  midst  of  all,  I  could  say,  with 
Job,  "  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him." 
Thank  God  that  it  is  written,  "All  things  work  to- 
gether for  good  to  them  that  love  God  \"  May  he 
still  protect  and  keep  us  humble  before  him ! 

"  Glad  frames  too  often  lift  us  up, 
And  then  how  proud  we  grow  I 
Till  sad  desertion  makes  us  droop, 
And  down  we  sink  as  low. 

He  that  is  down,  need  fear  no  fall ; 

He  that  is  low,  no  pride  ; 
He  that  is  humble,  ever  shall 

Have  God  to  be  his  guide." 


274  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

MARIETTA   AND   ADELPHI   CIRCUITS. 

In  September,  1835,  conference  sat  in  Springfield, 
Bishop  Soule  presiding.  My  appointment  was  to 
Marietta.  M.  P.  Kellogg  was  my  colleague.  He 
had  previously  belonged  to  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  which  he  was  a  distinguished  revivalist — some- 
thing after  the  style  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Finney.  He 
was  constantly  inclined  to  get  up  revivals,  by  some 
sort  of  maneuvering  ;  some  of  his  plans  were  admira- 
ble, but  others,  I  could  not  approve.  I  considered 
him  a  pious,  good  man ;  he  read  the  Bible  on  his 
knees  more  than  any  man  of  my  acquaintance ;  but 
he  was  impulsive,  hasty,  and  sometimes  very  incon- 
siderate in  his  movements ;  he  subsequently  got  into 
difficulty,  was  suspended  for  a  year,  and  then  per- 
mitted to  locate.  The  last  I  heard  of  him,  he  was 
preaching  in  another  branch  of  the  Church.  I  trust 
he  will  find  rest  in  heaven.  We  labored  together 
harmoniously,  and  had  a  good  work  on  the  circuit. 
Brother  Kellogg  was  undoubtedly  a  useful  man  in 
that  day.  Having  purchased  a  home,  and  located 
my  family  in  Kingston,  my  work  was  one  hundred 
and  five  miles  from  my  residence.  While  in  Marietta, 
I  boarded  with  brother  Crawford,  an  excellent  local 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  275 

preacher,  in  whose  kind  family  I  found  agreeable 
entertainment.  Marietta  was  the  point  at  which 
the  first  settlements  in  Ohio  commenced.  The  peo- 
ple were  mostly  of  the  New  England  stock,  and  to 
this  day  they  retain  many  of  the  customs  of  Yan- 
keedom.  Some  of  these  peculiarities  are  worthy 
of  imitation  every- where.  They  cultivate  tasto  in 
arranging  their  houses,  barns,  yards,  gardens,  fences, 
etc.;  so  that  their  residences  are  characterized  by 
order,  neatness,  and  comfort.  There  is  a  college 
in  the  place  of  good  reputation ;  it  is  under  Presby- 
terian control,  and  has  sent  out  a  large  number  of 
graduates,  who,  as  teachers,  preachers,  and  members 
of  other  professions,  occupy  positions  of  usefulness 
and  honor,  and  may  be  justly  esteemed  blessings  to 
the  country.  I  bless  God  for  sanctified  learning ! 
All  true  science  links  the  soul  to  God.  Leave  him 
out  of  the  account,  and  philosophy  loses  its  sub- 
limity, and  sinks  into  blind  conjecture.  And  our 
holy  Bible  courts  the  light.  Its  author  is  the  author 
of  all  things ;  He  who  inspired  the  prophets,  hung 
the  world  upon  nothing,  spread  abroad  the  heavens, 
ordained  the  laws  of  gravitation,  and  upholds  all 
things  by  the  word  of  his  power.  The  study  of 
science,  is  but  the  study  of  God.  The  heavens 
declare  his  glory,  and  the  firmament  showeth  his 
handy  work.  The  rocky  pages  of  geology  beneath 
our  feet,  and  the  shining  stars  above  our  heads, 
alike  display  the  wisdom,  power,  and  glory  of  that 
God  whose  loving  kindness  the  Bible  reveals. 


276  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

Marietta  was  a  half-station;  we  preached  there 
every  Sabbath  morning,  and  in  Point  Harmer  in 
the  afternoon.  In  the  winter,  I  held  a  protracted 
meeting  on  the  Marietta  side,  which  resulted  in  the 
happy  conversion  of  a  goodly  number  of  souls,  who 
united  with  us  in  Church  fellowship.  We  had  some 
revival  influence  at  nearly  every  appointment  on 
the  circuit.  We  also  raised  money  and  built  two 
churches  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

The  first  and  last  slave  case  I  ever  had  any  thing 
to  do  with,  occurred  in  Marietta  this  year.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  in  Virginia,  who  owned  a  number 
of  slaves,  sold  them,  and  came  here  and  commenced 
living  in  princely  style,  on  the  price  of  blood.  I 
had  him  arraigned  under  our  General  Rule  which 
forbids  the  buying  or  selling  men,  women,  and 
children  with  the  intention  of  enslaving  them ;  he 
was  found  guilty  and  expelled  the  Church — but 
took  an  appeal,  and  pleaded  nearly  two  hours  in 
his  own  defense ;  the  appeal  was  not  sustained ; 
so  he  remained  expelled,  becoming  very  bitter  against 
me  for  the  part  I  took  in  administering  the  Discipline 
against  him.  It  was  truly  a  sad  spectacle  to  see  a 
man  professing  Christianity,  guilty  of  the  black  crime 
of  selling  his  fellow-beings  into  slavery,  stand  up  to 
justify  the  deed  before  an  ecclesiastical  court.  In 
slave  states  such  things  may  yet  be  done,  but  I 
mistake  the  signs  of  the  times  if  the  light  of  truth 
does  not  yet  put  an  end  to  scenes  so  humiliating, 
even  there.     The  spirit  of  freedom,  flowing  on  with 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  277 

a  deep,  smooth  current,  will  rise  and  extend,  till  it 
spreads  over  all  the  area  of  oppression,  inundating 
our  whole  land  with  a  flood  of  glory.  Sectional 
animosity,  and  political  strife,  may,  for  a  time,  im- 
pede its  progress ;  but,  like  every  running,  living 
stream,  it  will  gather  strength,  surmount  every 
obstacle,  and  sweep  away  every  obstruction.  May 
God  hasten  the  day  when  the  Church,  the  state,  and 
nation,  shall  be  freed  from  the  curse  of  slavery ! 
The  prospect  looks  forbidding,  but  we  may  still  hope, 
for  God  reigns. 

But  this,  no  less  than  the  last,  was  a  year  of  trial 
and  deep  family  affliction.  God  saw  fit  to  remove  by 
death  another  of  our  sons.  He  was  in  the  twenty- 
third  year  of  his  age,  doing  business  in  Kingston, 
possessed  a  good  mind,  was  well  educated,  and — 
permit  a  father  to  say  it — was  highly  esteemed  in 
the  community.  He  was  scrupulously  moral  and 
upright.  The  Rev.  S.  Hamilton  said  if  there  was 
ever  any  one  retained  his  infantile  justification,  he 
was  the  person ;  but  he  deferred  a  profession  of 
religion,  till  the  spring  he  died.  While  he  was  yet 
in  good  health,  he  wrote  me  as  follows  :  "  I  have,  at 
last,  joined  the  Church.  I  did  not  do  it  in  the  time 
of  excitement,  nor  in  an  excited  moment ;  I  joined 
because  I  wanted  to  be  a  Methodist,  and  a  Christian. 
I  can  not  say  that  I  do  now,  or  ever  did,  feel  that 
conviction  which  others  speak  of  feeling ;  but  I  feel 
badly  because  I  can  not  feel  worse  than  I  do." 
This   was   his   last   letter.      He   never   entered  the 


278  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

Church  after  the  night  he  joined,  till  his  lifeless 
remains  were  carried  there  for  funeral  services  prior 
to  interment.  He  was  suddenly  prostrated  with 
hemorrhage.  Another  son  wrote  me,  and  I  hastened 
home.  Brother  Hamilton  was  on  the  Kingston 
circuit,  and  kindly  offered  to  exchange  work  with 
me,  during  this  affliction  ;  this  was  a  great  accommo- 
dation. I  could  fill  his  appointments,  and  be  home 
every  night.  The  attacks  of  hemorrhage  were 
repeated,  till  all  hopes  of  saving  him  from  death 
were  at  an  end.  Thus,  in  the  "morning  of  life,"  he 
must  be  resigned  to  the  fell  destroyer.  It  was 
hard — but  God  is  good  and  wise!  He  lingered  till 
the  22d  of  May,  1836,  when  he  breathed  his  last, 
saying,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit."  This  was 
in  the  same  room  in  which,  fourteen  months  before, 
my  eldest  son  sank  sweetly  to  rest.  But  they 
dwell  together  in  the  world  of  light.  They  were, 
perhaps,  "  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come." 

As  parents,  we  could  but  weep  and  trust  in  God. 
We  must  learn  to  suffer,  as  well  as  do,  his  will. 
"Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth 
every  son  whom  he  receiveth."  We  must  look  for 
afflictions — but  we  may,  at  the  same  time,  look  for 
supporting  grace.  Thank  heaven  I  we  have  a  loving 
Savior. 

"  His  heart  is  made  of  tenderness, 
His  bowels  melt  -with  love." 

This  is  a  precious  truth  ;  and  I  can  say,  with  a 
grateful  heart,  that,  as  my  trials  have  been,  so  has 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  279 

been  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  After  the 
decease  of  this  son,  I  returned  to  Marietta,  and  con- 
tinued in  the  work  till  the  close  of  the  year.  We 
were  permitted  to  wind  up  pleasantly.  On  my  return 
home,  while  riding  through  Logan,  my  horse  stumbled 
and  fell  upon  his  side,  fastening  my  leg  beneath  him. 
Some  time  after,  he  released  me  by  rising.  I  arose, 
and  was  astonished  to  find  that  the  limb  was  not 
broken.  Surely,  it  was  God's  providence  that  pre- 
served me  from  serious  harm.     Praise  his  name ! 

The  field  of  labor  assigned  me,  in  September, 
1836,  was  the  Adelphi  circuit.  My  colleague  was 
the  Rev.  Benjamin  Ellis,  a  good  preacher,  and  a 
pious,  companionable  man.  We  worked  sweetly  to- 
gether in  the  Gospel  yoke.  Most  of  this  circuit  ex- 
tended over  the  hills,  which  were  covered  with  white- 
oaks  and  pitch-pine.  My  health  was  not  very  good  ; 
by  some  means,  I  had  become  dyspeptic ;  but  I  found 
the  invigorating  atmosphere,  and  pure  water,  of  these 
hills,  together  with  plenty  of  good  corn-bread,  to  be 
very  efficacious  in  relieving  me  from  this  annoying 
and  distressing  disease.  Perhaps,  however,  a  share 
of  the  credit  is  due  to  the  picturesque  scenery,  which, 
with  ever-varying  aspect,  passed  before  the  eye,  in 
crossing  the  lofty  hills,  and  passing  the  deep  ravines. 
No  doubt  the  exhilarating  influence  arising  from  fre- 
quent contact  with  the  grand  and  beautiful  in  nature, 
is  calculated  to  counteract  the  nervous  depression, 
which  is  one  of  the  attendants  of  deranged  digestive 
organs.     But  the   pleasurable  sensations   which  the 


280  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

romantic  scenery  inspired,  were  greatly  enhanced  by 
finding,  scattered  through  the  hills  and  valleys,  a 
goodly  number  of  earnest,  self-denying  Christians, 
who  were  always  ready  to  work  for  God. 

Passing  through  this  circuit,  was  a  stream  very 
appropriately  called  Queer  creek.  It  wound  its  way 
through  the  hills,  in  such  a  serpentine  course,  that,  in 
traveling  the  distance  of  two  miles,  we  crossed  it  not 
less — and  I  am  not  certain  but  more — than  forty 
times.  I  used  to  think  it  fairly  represented  the  zig- 
zag life  of  some  specimens  of  humanity  with  whom  I 
have  had  acquaintance.  They  seem  utterly  incapable 
of  pursuing  a  straight-forward  course,  but  exhibit  as 
many  windings  and  turnings  as  Queer  creek.  They 
will  make  a  contract  with  you  to-day,  and,  to-morrow, 
if  they  see  opportunity  of  making  a  little,  a  very 
little,  too,  they  will  violate  it  without  scruple.  They 
care  nothing  about  their  word;  and,  as  for  honor,  they 
know  nothing  of  its  import.  Poor  creatures.  They 
are  objects  of  commiseration,  when  we  look  at  them 
as  immortal  beings,  led  captive  by  the  devil  at  his 
will;  but  much  of  their  crookedness  results  from 
downright  dishonesty.  Having  abandoned  themselves 
to  absolute  selfishness,  they  become  the  victims  of 
passion  and  self-interest,  so  fully  as  to  be  incapable 
of  resisting  any  gust  that  may  break  upon  them ;  the 
winds  and  waves  drive  them  hither  and  thither,  so 
that,  like  the  "double-minded  man,"  spoken  of  by 
St.  James,  "They  are  unstable  in  all  their  ways" — 
a  poor,  motley  mixture  of  contrarieties  —  a   heap   of 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  281 

jumbled  contradictions.  God  pity  them  !  I  lift  my 
heart  to  Him,  in  prayer,  that  they  may  be  rescued, 
by  infinite  mercy,  from  their  perilous  condition. 

In  the  course  of  the  year,  we  held  a  camp  meeting, 
in  conjunction  with  the  preachers,  on  the  Logan 
circuit.  The  meeting  was  pretty  well  attended,  the 
preaching  was  evangelical,  and,  of  course,  profitable ; 
sinners  were  awakened  and  converted  to  God,  and 
the  Church  was  enlivened  in  faith  and  holiness.  How 
delightful  is  the  tented  grove,  with  hundreds  of  happy 
souls  assembling  to  worship  God  !  and,  how  much 
more  delightful,  when  answers  of  prayer  are  visible, 
in  the  awakening  of  sinners,  who,  with  broken  hearts, 
cry  to  Heaven  for  mercy!  but,  how  transcendently 
glorious,  when  the  cloud  passes  away,  and  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  pours  into  their  mourning  hearts  the 
rays  of  heavenly  light,  and  they,  with  countenances 
beaming  with  joy,  arise,  exclaiming,  "0  Lord,  I 
will  praise  thee :  for  though  thou  wast  angry  with 
me,  thine  anger  is  turned  away,  and  now  thou  dost 
comfort  me  !"  "We  had  peace  and  quietness  in  all 
our  borders,  and  closed  up  the  year  with  thankfulness 
to  God  for  his  protecting  care.  Many  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  charge  still  live  in  the  affections  of  the 
writer.  May  the  smile  of  Heaven  cheer  us  all  in  the 
close  of  life ! 

24 


282  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 


CHAPTER    XX. 

GRANVILLE    CIRCUIT  — SUPERANNUATED . 

September,  1837,  I  was  appointed  to  Granville 
circuit,  with  Rev.  J.  T.  Donohoe  for  my  colleague. 
Brother  D.  is  too  well  known  to  require  a  lengthy 
notice  here.  He  was  in  the  regular  work  in  the  Ohio 
conference  for  a  long  time,  then  located  for  several 
years,  and  was,  last  year,  readmitted,  and  placed 
upon  the  superannuated  list,  in  order  that  he  may  die 
in  connection  with  the  conference  which  he  served  so 
many  years.  Granville  was  fifty  miles  from  my  resi- 
dence in  Kingston,  the  circuit  was  large,  and,  believ- 
ing I  could  not  do  justice  to  the  work  without  living 
upon  it,  I  moved  my  family  to  that  place.  We  found 
a  noble  board  of  stewards,  but  they  were  unable  to 
procure  us  a  house ;  they  did,  however,  succeed  in 
renting  part  of  a  very  poor  one.  We  went  at  it 
and  raised  funds  and  bought  a  parsonage.  It  was 
good  enough,  at  that  time,  but,  though  still  used  for 
the  purpose,  it  evidently  is  some  the  worse  for  age. 
Would  that  the  people  could  realize  how  much  they 
would  save  themselves  and  ministers,  by  keeping  com- 
fortable accommodations  for  the  families  that  lead  the 
wearisome  life  of  itinerants ! 

Granville  was  settled    nearly  fifty-one   years  ago, 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  283 

by  a  colony  from  Granville.  Massachusetts.  Most  of 
the  original  settlers  were  Congregationalists.  They 
were  organized  into  a  Church,  under  the  pastoral 
direction  of  the  venerable  Dr.  Cooley,  who  still  lives, 
before  leaving  for  the  west.  The  Congregational 
Church,  in  Granville,  is,  therefore,  older  than  the 
town  itself.  The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  their  arrival 
on  the  site  of  the  town,  was  celebrated  by  a  jubilee, 
in  October,  1855,  at  which  Dr.  Cooley  was  present, 
and  delivered  an  address.  The  Congregationalists, 
having  thus  preoccupied  the  ground,  have  kept  the 
ascendency  ever  since.  The  membership  is  large, 
and,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  J.  Little, 
this  Church  occupies  a  position  of  influence  and  high 
respectability.  The  Church  is  Congregational,  but 
the  pastor  is  a  Presbyterian,  of  the  New  School.  It 
requires  no  little  skill,  patience,  and  perseverance,  to 
keep  together  so  large  a  membership,  composed  of 
such  variety  of  material,  under  a  government  so 
peculiar.  But,  with  very  moderate  abilities  as  a 
preacher,  Mr.  Little  performs  this  difficult  task, 
thereby  displaying  unusual  capabilities  as  an  admin- 
istrator. Perhaps  the  secret  of  his  success  is  attribu- 
table to  the  great  personal  influence  he  has  acquired, 
by  his  position  among  his  people,  most  of  whom  he 
has  known  from  their  youth. 

The  Baptists  commenced  operations  here  at  an 
early  day,  established  a  Church,  and  by  making  it 
the  seat  of  their  College,  were  enabled  to  concentrate 
an    influence    which   has    raised    their    Church   to    a 


284  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

position  above  that  which  it  occupies  in  other  places 
in  the  state.  Their  Church  is  large,  and  their  Col- 
lege, though  prostrate  for  some  years  past,  is  being 
resuscitated,  with  fair  prospect  of  a  career  of  use- 
fulness. 

The  Episcopalians  have  a  respectable  Church,  and 
a  literary  institution  for  females ;  but  their  influence 
in  the  community  is  not  felt  a  great  deal — though 
some  of  the  best  citizens  of  the  place  are  members 
of  that  sect.  The  Presbyterians,  and  the  Calvinistic 
Methodists,  each  have  a  congregation  of  worshipers 
in  the  Welsh  language.  Both  are  rigid  Calvinists, 
and  why  they  do  not  unite,  I  am  unable  to  tell. 

A  note  in  the  stewards'  book  reads  thus  :  "  Meth- 
odism was  introduced  into  Granville,  Licking  county, 
Ohio,  by  Rev.  James  B.  Einley,  in  the  year  1810, 
at  which  time  a  class  was  formed  in  the  house  of 
Mr.  William  Gavit,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the 
place."  The  place  was  taken  into  the  Knox  circuit, 
in  1811;  James  Quinn  was  presiding  elder,  and  Elisha 
W.  Bowman  circuit  preacher.  Brother  Bowman  was, 
therefore,  the  first  preacher  who  regularly  preached 
in  Granville,  A  long  list  of  worthies  have  followed 
him,  and  preceded  the  writer,  in  this  field.  The  list 
continues :  Michael  Ellis,  David  Knox,  Samuel  West, 
John  Solomon,  John  M'Mahan,  Shadrick  Ruark, 
Henry  Baker,  etc.  I  noticed  in  the  list  the  names 
of  C.  Goddard,  H.  S.  Fernandes,  L.  L.  Hamline, 
and  others,  which  will  long  live  in  the  affections 
of  the   Church.     But,   occupied   as    the  ground  has 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  285 

been  by  other  denominations  which  had  an  earlier 
start  and  superior  advantages,  Methodism  has  not 
nourished  in  Granville,  as  in  many  other  places; 
and  when  the  circumstances  are  fully  known,  the 
wonder  is  not  that  it  has  not  prospered  so  well  here 
as  elsewhere,  but  rather  that  it  has  lived  at  all.  But 
with  all  its  disadvantages,  Methodism  has  done  a 
work  for  God,  even  here.  Hundreds  through  her 
instrumentality  have  been  born  of  the  Spirit  in  this 
place,  many  of  whom  have  landed  safely  in  heaven, 
and  some  of  whom  are  upon  the  walls  of  Zion,  while 
others  have  emigrated  to  the  far  west,  leaving  a 
"remnant"  who  still  keep  the  altar-fires  burning, 
waiting  and  trusting  that  God  will  enlarge  the 
borders  of  his  heritage,  and  bless  his  people  with 
abundance  of  prosperity.  God  grant  unto  them  the 
desire  of  their  hearts  ! 

Our  first  quarterly  meeting  was  held  in  Granville, 
and  was  an  excellent  meeting,  all  things  considered ; 
near  twenty  gave  us  their  names  as  probationers  for 
membership  in  the  Church. 

The  second  was  held  in  Etna — a  small  village 
on  the  National  road.  The  society  was  in  a  cold 
state,  and  there  was  little  prospect  of  success;  but 
on  Friday  night,  before  the  regular  commencement 
of  the  quarterly  meeting  services,  I  delivered  a  dis- 
course in  which  the  low  state  of  religion  was  de- 
scribed, and  the  operations  of  unbelief  in  the  heart 
pointed  out.  I  remarked,  "You  say  there  will  be 
nothing  done  at  this  meeting — that  is  the  language 


286  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

of  unbelief;  I  do  not  believe  a  word  of  it.  I  feel 
assured  that  God  will  work  at  this  time."  Our  faith 
was  quickened,  and  God  did  work  for  us  gloriously. 
Rev.  J.  Young  was  our  presiding  elder.  He  preached, 
Saturday,  and  attended  quarterly  conference,  but  was 
out  of  health  and  did  not  get  out  at  night.  The 
next  morning  he  told  me  to  attend  the  love-feast, 
and  he  thought  he  would  be  able  to  preach  at  eleven. 
The  hour  arrived,  and  he  came  and  attended  the 
preliminary  services,  but,  after  prayer,  he  turned  to 
me  and  said,  "You  will  have  to  preach,  I  am  so 
hoarse  I  can  not  do  it."  There  was  no  time  for 
premeditation.  I  announced  a  text  at  once,  and 
entered  upon  its  elucidation  in  the  name  of  Him 
whose  presence  is  promised.  I  was  graciously  as- 
sisted. Our  meeting  increased  in  interest,  power, 
and  glory.  The  services  lasted  for  several  days,  and 
were  profitable  to  the  Church,  and  to  many  others. 
On  Monday  morning,  two  of  the  stewards  started 
home,  but,  like  the  disciples  that  journeyed  to  the 
village  of  Emmaus,  they  talked  by  the  way  of  all 
these  things,  and  their  hearts  warmed  as  they  talked, 
so  that  they  felt  they  were  doing  wrong,  and  resolved 
to  return.  They  did  so — and,  after  coming  back, 
they  told  what  had  transpired ;  they  had  talked  over 
the  qualifications  pointed  out  in  the  book  of  Disci- 
pline, as  necessary  to  be  possessed  by  stewards,  con- 
cluded they  did  not  possess  the  deep  piety  required, 
and  proposed  to  resign.  I  dissuaded  them  from 
that  course,  and  urged  them  to  seek  for  more  grace. 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  287 

At  our  third  quarterly  meeting,  which  was  held  in 
April,  I  got  wet,  took  cold,  and  was,  in  a  short  time, 
disabled  from  preaching.  I  returned  home,  and  re- 
member putting  my  horse  in  the  barn,  and  the  next 
I  had  any  knowledge  of  was,  finding  myself  lying  in 
my  own  bed,  very  sick.  There  I  lay  twelve  weeks, 
at  the  point  of  death.  For  a  number  of  weeks,  I 
could  move  neither  foot  nor  hand  any  more  than  if 
dead.  Many  of  my  friends  called  in  and  prayed  with 
me,  of  which  I  had  no  knowledge.  The  amount  of 
food  taken,  within  the  twelve  weeks,  might  have  been 
put  in  a  tea-cup.  My  life  was  despaired  of  by  all 
except  my  dear  wife,  without  whose  skillful  nursing 
and  persevering  efforts,  I  must  have  died.  Almost 
constantly,  through  those  long  twelve  weeks,  was  she 
upon  her  feet,  striving  to  allay  the  burning  fever,  and 
to  minister  to  the  demands  of  my  helpless  body.  At 
one  time,  two  physicians  said  I  could  not  live,  and 
the  third  said  I  was  already  dying ;  but  she  would  not 
yield;  her  trust  was  in  God.  To  him  she  looked,  by 
him  she  was  sustained,  and,  under  his  blessing,  my 
life  was  spared.  At  about  the  close  of  the  twelve 
weeks,  I  was  enabled  to  hold  a  little  conversation 
with  my  wife,  by  whispering  in  broken  sentences,  in 
which  we  agreed  in  reference  to  my  burial,  etc.  I 
took,  as  we  supposed,  my  last  farewell  of  my  family, 
and  viewed  myself  as  just  crossing  the  cold  stream. 
I  realized  no  ecstatic  joy,  neither  had  I  any  dread  or 
fear.  I  seemed  to  be  moving  calmly  out  upon  the 
dark  waters,  till  the  impression  became  vivid  in  my 


288  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

mind  that  I  was  half  over  the  swellings  of  Jordan; 
then  looking  before  me,  all  was  light  and  glorious ;  I 
gazed,  as  I  supposed,  upon  the  trees  of  paradise, 
waving  their  immortal  branches  in  the  winds  of 
heaven,  and  beckoning  me  to  the  shore.  I  fully 
expected  to  rest,  in  a  few  moments,  upon  the  plains 
of  light,  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the 
redeemed  from  earth;  with  my  children  and  friends 
who  had  died  in  the  Lord;  and,  above  all,  with  my 
blessed  Savior.  This  was  not  delirium;  my  mind 
was  clear,  and  my  consciousness  distinct;  but  I  can 
scarcely  say  whether  I  was  more  in  the  body  than  out 
of  the  body.  It  was  a  blessed  night,  which  I  shall 
never  forget.  The  next  morning,  I  was  pronounced 
better.  Though  the  improvement  was  almost  imper- 
ceptible, I  continued  to  grow  better;  and,  at  our  last 
quarterly  meeting,  some  of  the  friends  lifted  me  into 
a  carriage,  and  took  me  to  it.  I  appeared  to  many 
as  one  risen  from  the  dead.  Some  had  heard  that  I 
was  dead,  and  none  expected  me  to  recover.  All 
greeted  me  with  much  tenderness  and  affection,  de- 
claring it  a  privilege  to  meet  me  again  in  the  sanc- 
tuary, which  they  had  not  expected  on  earth.  It  was 
a  solemn,  weeping,  glorious  time,  but  my  pen  can 
never  describe  the  happiness  of  that  hour.  Unin- 
spired language  can  not  express  the  gratitude  of  my 
heart,  in  reviewing  the  past  mercies  of  my  heavenly 
Father.  "Praise  ye  the  Lord.  Praise  ye  the  Lord 
from  the  heavens:  praise  him  in  the  hights.  Praise 
ye  him,  all  his  angels :  praise  ye  him,  all  his  hosts. 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  289 

Praise  ye  him,  sun  and  moon :  praise  him,  all  ye  stars 
of  light.  Praise  him,  ye  heavens  of  heavens,  and  yo 
waters  that  be  above  the  heavens.  Let  them  praise 
the  name  of  the  Lord:  for  he  commanded,  and  they 
were  created.  He  hath  also  established  them  forever 
and  ever:  he  hath  made  a  decree  which  shall  not 
pass.  Praise  the  Lord  from  the  earth,  ye  dragons, 
and  all  deeps :  fire  and  hail ;  snow  and  vapor :  stormy 
wind  fulfilling  his  word:  mountains,  and  all  hills: 
fruitful  trees,  and  all  cedars:  beasts,  and  all  cattle; 
creeping  things,  and  flying  fowl:  kings  of  the  earth, 
and  all  people;  princes,  and  all  judges  of  the  earth: 
both  young  men  and  maidens;  old  men  and  chil- 
dren: let  them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord,  for  his 
name  alone  is  excellent ;  his  glory  is  above  the  earth 
and  heaven.  He  also  exalteth  the  horn  of  his  people, 
the  praise  of  all  his  saints;  even  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  a  people  near  unto  him.  Praise  ye  the  Lord!" 
When  the  conference  for  this  year — 1838 — sat  in 
Columbus,  I  was  able  to  reach  there ;  but  my  limbs 
were  swollen,  and  I  was  yet  so  debilitated  as  to  be 
unable  to  put  on  and  off  my  clothing  without  assist- 
ance. Of  course,  I  was  not  able  to  take  work,  but 
took  a  superannuated  relation  to  the  conference,  and 
returned  home  and  spent  the  winter.  In  April,  1839, 
four  appointments  were  set  off  from  Circleville,  and, 
in  pursuance  of  the  desire  of  the  membership,  the 
presiding  elder  prevailed  with  me  to  take  charge  of 
them.      My   old    friends    made    me    welcome    among 

them,  and  we  had  some  most  delightful  meetings. 

25 


290  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

In  the  month  of  May,  a  brother  of  mine  came, 
with  his  family,  and  settled  close  by  me.  We  had 
been  separated  thirteen  years.  He  is  the  only  rela- 
tive of  mine  that  ever  settled  in  Ohio.  Soon  after 
his  arrival,  he  and  brother  R.  Green  commenced  a 
series  of  meetings  a  few  miles  from  Johnstown,  which 
they  continued  till  God  blessed  them  with  a  glorious 
revival  of  religion.  Many  souls,  through  their  instru- 
mentality, were  happily  converted  to  God,  and  joined 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church ;  and  a  large  portion 
of  them  still  hold  on  their  way.  Praise  God  for  con- 
verting power!  This  brother  was  very  dear  to  me. 
While  I  was  stationed  on  Lake  Champlain,  he  made 
me  a  visit,  and  God  made  me  instrumental  in  his 
awakening  and  conversion.  He  still  lives  near  by 
me.  We  often  visit  each  other,  and  talk  of  the  deep 
things  that  pertain  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  Here  wc 
meet  and  part;  but,  if  faithful  a  few  more  days,  we 
shall  meet  where  parting  is  not  known. 

"  When  all  our  toils  are  o'er, 
Our  sufferings  and  our  pain  ; 
"Who  meet  on  that  eternal  shore, 
Shall  never  part  again." 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  291 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

LITHOPOLIS    AND    HEBRON    CIRCUITS. 

At  the  conference  of  1839,  some  appointments 
taken  from  Worthington  circuit  were  added  to  those 
of  which  I  had  charge  the  latter  part  of  the  previous 
year,  forming  Lithopolis  circuit.  Upon  this  work 
I  was  sent,  in  connection  with  brother  Jacob  Young, 
who  had  just  completed  his  term  as  presiding  elder 
of  the  district.  We  labored  together  in  love,  and 
were  blessed  with  some  good  times.  During  this 
year,  we  raised  a  "  centenary  subscription  r'  for  the 
purpose  of  building  a  parsonage  in  Groveport,  a 
small  village  on  the  canal,  ten  miles  from  Columbus, 
which  subsequently  became  the  head-quarters  of  the 
circuit. 

This  charge  contained  some  excellent,  old-fashioned 
Methodists.  I  have  before  spoken  of  the  Hopewell 
appointment  in  Grooms's  neighborhood,  which  was 
now  connected  with  Lithopolis  ;  in  the  latter  place 
were  some  whose  names  I  cherish  with  pleasure,  as 
also  in  Groveport.  This  last  place  was  originally 
called  Rarysport,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  laid 
out  by  W.  Rary,  who  did  considerable  business  in 
the  produce  line  ;  it  was  also  known  by  the  name 
of  Wert's   Grove — a  Mr.  Wert  owning  part  of   the 


292  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

land  on  which  it  was  built.  When  the  village  came 
to  be  incorporated,  some  strife  arose  as  to  the  name 
it  should  bear,  both  proprietors,  with  their  respective 
friends,  contending  for  the  honor.  The  controversy 
was  settled  by  a  "compromise;"  the  names  of  both 
the  men  were  left  off,  while  the  "  Grove  "  and  the 
"  Port "  were  united,  making  the  very  appropriate 
name  —  Groveport.  For  many  years  Methodism 
flourished  well  in  this  place.  Men  of  sterling  worth 
lived  here,  some  of  whom  will  long  be  remembered 
by  the  preachers  whose  lot  it  has  been  to  spend  a 
year  or  two  on  this  work.  One  fact  may  be  named, 
of  some  significance.  It  has  several  times  happened 
that  the  presiding  elders  on  the  district,  who  were 
well  acquainted  with  the  work,  and  whose  position 
gave  them  some  advantages  in  the  way  of  selecting 
their  own  fields,  have  closed  their  term  of  service 
in  that  relation,  and  then  taken  this  circuit.  I  love 
to  think  of  the  old  soldiers  of  the  cross — but  many 
of  them  have  removed  to  the  Church  triumphant, 
while  their  children  occupy  their  places  in  the  army 
still  in  the  field. 

"We  held  a  camp  meeting,  that  year.  The  site 
selected  for  the  purpose  was  a  beautiful  grove 
offered  by  old  brother  Keedles,  between  Pickering- 
ton  and  Columbus.  This  was  in  one  of  the  finest 
farming  sections  in  Ohio,  and  surrounded  by  a  neigh- 
borhood of  moral,  enterprising,  industrious,  and,  of 
course,  prosperous  citizens.  On  the  day  appointed 
for    preparing    the    grounds,    there    was    a    general 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  293 

turnout.  Quite  a  number  of  noble-hearted  men  who 
made  no  profession,  came  and  took  hold  manfully; 
we  took  this  as  a  good  omen.  The  best  of  order 
prevailed  throughout  the  meeting.  I  do  not  recol- 
lect of  having  occasion  to  administer  reproof  but 
once  the  whole  time  of  the  encampment.  Every- 
thing moved  on  delightfully  till  the  last  day — 
"  the  great  day  of  the  festival."  Then  the  "doors 
of  the  Church"  were  opened — that  is,  they  were 
announced  as  open;  for,  like  the  "happy  gates  of 
Gospel  grace,"  they  stand  "open  night  and  day" — 
persons  were  invited  to  join  the  Church  on  proba- 
tion ;  they  came  one  after  another  till  about  fifty 
names  were  enrolled  as  new  recruits.  Many  were 
converted  to  God,  became  useful  members  of  the 
Church,  and  still  live  to  honor  their  profession ; 
some  of  them  holding  official  stations,  are  now  stand- 
ing in  the  fore  front  in  the  battle  with  sin  and  error. 
Some  will  read  this  sketch  and  say  from  the  heart, 
"  Thank  God  for  that  meeting  !  that  was  the  time 
I  started  for  heaven."  God  bless  them  !  May  they 
one  and  all  obtain  the  crown  of  life ! 

In  1840,  our  conference  sat  in  Zanesville.  Bishop 
Hedding  presided  with  his  usual  dignity  and  urbanity 
of  manners — a  perfect  specimen  of  the  refined  Chris- 
tian gentleman.  He  permitted  each  member,  who 
wished,  to  speak  on  every  question  that  came  up, 
and  yet  the  business  was  done  up  with  unusual  dis- 
patch. The  year  1840  will  be  remembered  as  the 
time    of    the   most   excited    political    campaign    our 


294  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

country  has  ever  known.  The  business  of  confer- 
ence was  hurried  to  a  close  to  give  the  members 
opportunity  to  reach  home  in  time  to  vote  for  the 
man  of  their  choice.  I  do  not  mean  that  the  con- 
ference, as  such,  hurried  business  for  this  purpose  ; 
but  the  members  doubtless  refrained  from  consuming 
time  with  long  speeches,  and  from  introducing 
matters  of  an  extraneous  character,  in  order  that 
the  session  might  not  be  unnecessarily  prolonged. 
Preachers  are  men,  and  citizens,  and  as  citizens, 
if  not  as  preachers,  they  have  equal  rights  and 
privileges,  politically,  with  their  fellow-citizens ;  and, 
though  prudence  would  always  dictate  that  they 
should  not  become  entangled  with  the  partyisms  that 
prevail,  so  as  to  hinder  their  usefulness  as  ministers, 
they  ought  not  to  yield  to  the  bullying  cry  of 
political  demagogues,  and  be  driven  from  the  exer- 
cise of  their  rights,  simply  because  they  are  called 
to  minister  in  holy  things.  They  must  not  only 
"render  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's,"  but 
they  are  equally  bound  to  "  render  unto  Caesar  the 
things  that  are  Caesar's ;"  and  in  performing  this 
latter  duty  conscientiously,  they  will  find  it  necessary 
to  give  the  weight  of  their  influence  in  favor  of  that 
form  of  civil  government  which,  to  them,  appears 
best  calculated  to  promote  the  interests  and  happi- 
ness of  the  people.  In  a  country  where  the  people 
are  the  sovereigns,  no  man  can  innocently  stand 
aloof,  and  allow  the  elections  to  go  by  default,  so 
as  to   raise  to  offices   of  trust   and   power    corrupt, 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  295 

time-serving  politicians,  when  by  attending  to  his 
privilege  and  duty  he  can  contribute  to  hinder  such 
unworthy  elevations,  and  promote  the  election  of 
men  at  least  a  little  better  fitted  for  the  responsible 
positions.  The  right  of  suffrage,  secured  to  us  by 
the  organic  law  of  the  state  and  nation,  is  no  less 
a  right  than  a  duty ;  as  good  citizens,  we  can  neither 
refuse  to  vote,  nor  vote  carelessly,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  mere  party  bias ;  we  owe  it  to  ourselves, 
to  the  country,  and  to  posterity,  to  vote,  and  to  vote 
understandingly,  with  an  eye  single  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  whole  country.  Viewing  the  matter  thus, 
we  can  not  find  fault  even  with  a  body  of  Christian 
ministers  for  being  anxious  to  perform  this  duty  of 
citizenship,  at  a  time  when  grave  interests  were  pend- 
ing; nor  can  we  envy  the  wisdom  or  patriotism  of 
those  partisan  tricksters  who  are  forever  harping  about 
the  importance  of  keeping  politics  and  religion  sepa- 
rate. The  fact  is,  politics  have  been  separated  too 
far  from  religion ;  men  are  coming  to  think  it  pos- 
sible to  be,  at  the  same  time,  religious  saints,  and 
political  knaves ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  some  are 
looked  upon,  through  party  prejudices,  as  being 
perfect  paragons  of  political  purity,  while  they  are 
known  to  be  morally  and  religiously  corrupt.  Such 
things  ought  not  to  be. 

But  we  hope  to  see  no  more  such  contests  for  the 
Presidency.  The  influence  of  the  political  excite- 
ment of  1840,  was  detrimental  to  religion.  Many 
pious   members   of  the   Church,   in  different   places, 


296  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

were  led  away  by  the  intoxication  of  the  times,  and 
"  made  shipwreck  of  faith,  and  a  good  conscience ;" 
while  the  minds  of  the  irreligious  were  too  much  dis- 
sipated to  be  reached  with  the  serious  truths  of  the 
Gospel.  Although  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  party 
politics  will  never  again  rage  as  in  that  year,  while 
I  write  these  lines,  deprecating  the  irreligious  tend- 
ency of  such  excitements,  there  is  reason  to  appre- 
hend a  return  of  similar  scenes,  during  the  election 
campaign  which  is  now  begun.  I  pray  God  to  save 
his  Church  and  people  from  corruption  and  apostasy! 
At  this  conference  some  appointments  were  taken 
from  Granville,  and  some  from  the  Rushville  circuit, 
and  the  Hebron  circuit  organized,  and  I  was  ap- 
pointed to  labor  on  it.  The  arrangement  suited  me 
well;  for,  having  purchased  a  snug  little  farm  near 
Johnstown,  and  located  my  family  upon  it,  this 
work  was  convenient  to  my  residence.  My  health 
was  not  very  good,  and  as  very  many  of  my  old 
friends  lived  in  the  bounds  of  this  new  charge,  I 
considered  myself  well  favored  in  receiving  this 
appointment.  There  were  some  whole-souled  Meth- 
odists here  of  the  original  type.  I  found  them 
ready  to  co-operate  in  the  good  work,  willing  to 
bear  the  cross  and  make  the  sacrifices  necessary 
to  advance  the  cause  of  religion.  My  mind  reverts 
to  the  different  preaching-places,  and  before  it  rises 
the  image  of  familiar  faces,  some  of  whom  shall  no 
more  be  seen  in  this  wTorid.  Of  many  I  would  like 
to  speak  freely,  but  must  not  indulge.     There  were 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  297 

the  Pitzers,  Brights,  Coulters,  Siglers,  Hulls,  Wil- 
sons— but  the  list  extends,  suggesting  names  loved 
and  honored  as  disciples  of  our  blessed  Lord;  yet  I 
must  not  omit  the  name  of  that  venerable  servant 
and  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  Rev.  Martin  Fate. 
For  many  long  years,  when  the  country  was  new,  and 
Methodism,  not  being  understood,  was  despised,  he 
as  a  faithful  sentinel  stood  upon  the  walls  of  Zion, 
watching  for  souls  as  one  who  should  give  an  account; 
and  God  made  him  instrumental  in  comforting  the 
bereaved,  in  directing  the  inquiring  penitent  to  the 
cross,  and  in  convincing  the  gainsayers  of  the  truth 
and  beauty  of  our  holy  religion.  His  walk  and  con- 
versation accorded  with  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  his 
example  of  unobtrusive  piety  exhibited  the  spirit  of 
meekness,  faith,  and  charity,  sending  out  an  influ- 
ence more  potent  for  good  than  can  be  exerted  by 
scores  of  impetuous,  time-serving  professors.  He 
lived  to  see  his  children  "walking  by  the  same  rule, 
and  minding  the  same  things ;"  and,  enjoying  a 
"green  old  age,"  he  lingers  in  happy  expectancy  of 
a  blessed  immortality.  "May  his  sun  go  down  in 
smiles,  and  bring  a  pleasing  night !" 

In  Brownsville  we  had  a  small  brick  chapel,  since 
used  by  brother  J.  Fluke  as  a  wagon-shop ;  but  the 
commodious  church  in  which  the  congregation  now 
worship  was  then  building,  and  it  was  completed  and 
dedicated  that  year — Rev.  Samuel  Hamilton  preach- 
ing the  dedicatory  sermon.  The  friends  in  Linnville 
built  a  good  church  the  year  previous ;    in   Hebron 


298  KECOLLECTIONS     OF 

we  had  no  house,  but  "went  to  work  and  secured 
funds  for  building  one,  which  was  afterward  done ; 
and  it  has  been  the  chief  ornament  of  the  place  since 
its  completion.  There,  too,  was  George's  Chapel — 
a  large  brick  church,  one  and  a  half  miles  from 
Hebron,  with  a  good  society  and  congregation — but 
now,  owing  to  changes  in  the  community,  the  mem- 
bership are  scattered,  and  the  "old  brick"  is  gone — 
as  these  old  tabernacles  which  we  inhabit  will  soon 
be  gone — taken  down  and  applied  to  some  other 
use.  The  year  passed  away  pleasantly,  and  I  left 
the  circuit  thankful  to  God  for  inclining  the  hearts 
of  this  people  to  bear  with  my  infirmities,  and  to 
sympathize  with  me  in  my  afflictions  and  toils.  Thus 
closed  the  third  year  after  the  severe  sickness  which 
brought  me  to  the  grave's  mouth. 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  299 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

GLANCE    AT    SEVERAL    YEARS— CONCLUSION. 

In  1841,  I  was  on  the  Granville  circuit  in  company 
with  Rev.  W.  T.  Hand  and  J.  A.  Bruner — two  effi- 
cient and  agreeable  companions  in  labor.  My  family 
lived  in  the  bounds  of  this  work,  and,  having  previ- 
ously traveled  the  circuit,  I  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  people,  and  felt  myself  at  home  among  them. 
Rev.  R.  0.  Spencer  was  presiding  elder.  He  was  a 
good  theologian,  a  faithful,  affectionate  preacher,  and 
a  warm-hearted  Christian.  He  filled  the  office  with 
dignity  and  usefulness — but  he  is  still  in  the  good 
work,  and  I  will  indulge  in  no  further  remarks  in 
reference  to  him,  in  this  place.  We  all  united,  heart 
and  hand  in  the  "labor  of  love,"  and  were  soon 
permitted  to  see  that  our  "labor  was  not  vain  in  the 
Lord."  The  Spirit  of  God  fell  upon  the  people, 
quickening  believers  and  convicting  sinners,  causing 
the  powers  of  darkness  to  tremble.  Penitent  souls 
were  led  to  cry  out,  "  What  must  we  do  to  be 
saved?"  We  stood  ready  to  point  them  to  the  Lamb 
of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  and 
witnessed  the  conversion  of  a  large  number. 

My  son,  C.  W.  Lewis,  lived  about  two  miles  from 
Johnstown,  where  he   and  the   neighbors  erected  a 


300  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

log  meeting-house,  in  which,  "when  it  was  finished,  we 
held  a  protracted  meeting,  and,  through  the  divine 
mercy,  we  had  a  glorious  time  of  refreshing  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord.  Many  were  awakened  and 
converted,  and  taking  these  with  some  members  who 
lived  in  the  vicinity,  we  organized  a  large  society. 
My  brother,  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  and  this  son, 
who  had  been  preaching  for  some  time,  rendered  us 
efficient  aid  during  this  meeting. 

At  another  place,  brother  Bruner  and  myself  held  a 
protracted  meeting  in  a  log-house,  which,  all  things 
considered,  excelled  any  thing  of  the  kind  I  ever  wit- 
nessed. We  took  in  about  ninety  members,  some  of 
whom,  alas!  have  " fallen  away;  "  but  others  remain 
steadfast,  and  are  now  living  members  in  the  Church. 
In  the  spring,  brother  Hand  and  myself  held  a  pro- 
tracted meeting  in  the  town  of  Granville,  which  was 
an  excellent  meeting,  the  fruit  of  which  yet  remains. 
Here,  a  young  lady,  reared  by  Major  "Warren,  sought 
and  obtained  peace  in  Christ,  and  the  day  following 
her  conversion,  I  visited  the  Major  and  family.  The 
young  lady,  in  answer  to  a  question,  said  she  was 
still  happy.  I  conversed  with  the  Major,  and  learned 
from  him,  that  he  thought  it  right  and  proper  to  have 
meetings  on  the  Sabbath,  but  saw  no  propriety  in 
having  services  through  the  week.  I  urged  him  to 
attend,  but  he  would  not  promise.  I  had  prayer  and 
left,  not  much  expecting  to  see  him  again,  while  the 
meeting  lasted  ;  but  he  was  in  the  congregation  that 
night.      The   next   day  he    came    again,  and,   when 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  301 

mourners  were  invited  to  the  altar,  he  arose  delib- 
erately, and  came  forward.  While  upon  his  knees,  he 
requested  us  to  take  his  name  as  a  probationer,  which 
we  did,  and  he  was  shortly  afterward  enabled  to  em- 
brace the  Savior  by  faith,  and  has  continued  in  the 
narrow  way  till  the  present  time.  In  November — 
1855 — he  was  smitten  down  with  a  stroke  of  palsy, 
and  remains  in  a  very  feeble  condition,  with  little 
prospect  of  restoration  of  bodily  health,  but  enjoys  a 
cheering  hope  of  immortality  and  eternal  life,  which 
is  as  an  anchor  to  the  soul,  sure  and  steadfast,  sus- 
taining his  spirits,  and  affording  him  holy  comforts, 
under  the  trying  providences  through  which  he  is 
called  to  pass. 

We  had  other  special  meetings  on  the  circuit,  which 
were  attended  with  good  success ;  but  I  must  not  par- 
ticularize ;  the  year  closed  happily.  I  look  back 
upon  it  with  pleasure,  and  know  not  that  I  can  ex- 
press my  feelings  in  regard  to  it  better  than  by 
repeating  the  well-known  doxology — 

"  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow ; 
Praise  him,  all  creatures  here  below; 
Praise  him  above,  ye  heavenly  host ; 
Praise  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost." 

In  1842,  I  was  appointed  to  the  Blendon  circuit, 
without  a  colleague.*  The  Rev.  Nathan  Emory  was 
then  living  on  the  circuit,  sustaining  a  superannuated 
relation  to  the  conference;  but,  being  able  to  do  some 
work,  he  was  employed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  He  was 
formerly  a  member  of  the  New  York  conference — was 


302  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

a  man  of  noble,  generous  impulses — a  good  theologian, 
and  delighted  to  point  out,  to  inquiring  hearers,  the 
way  of  life  and  salvation,  through  the  blessed  Re- 
deemer. In  the  days  of  his  strength,  he  filled  some 
important  stations  in  the  Church,  and  always  acquit- 
ted himself  well.  He  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and 
died,  a  few  years  ago,  in  clear  prospect  of  heaven. 
We  labored  together  in  harmony,  and  with  some  suc- 
cess. It  was  not  a  year  of  extensive  revival  influence, 
though  we  were  favored  with  reasonable  prosperity. 
The  high  school  was  then  flourishing  at  Westerville, 
under  the  direction  of  brothers  Kingsley  and  Blair. 
Brothers  Ingals,  "Westervelt,  and  Lonnis,  were  there 
in  course  of  preparation  for  the  ministry.  The  Insti- 
tution has  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  United 
Brethren,  and,  under  the  patronage  of  that  denom- 
ination, it  is  enjoying  a  fair  degree  of  prosperity  as 
the  Otterbein  University.  At  our  last  quarterly 
meeting  conference,  the  three  young  brethren  named 
were  recommended  for  the  traveling  connection,  and, 
at  the  next  session  of  the  Ohio  conference,  they  were 
admitted  on  trial.  Brother  Ingals  is  now  a  member 
of  the  Iowa  conference ;  brother  Westervelt  died  in 
the  work,  several  years  ago  ;  and  brother  Lonnis  is 
still  a  member  of  the  Ohio  conference. 

It  was  that  year  that  the  great  Millerite  excitement 
swept  over  the  country.  It  became,  for  a  time,  the 
main  topic  of  conversation  in  many  places — some 
were  alarmed — some  became  serious — some  went 
crazy,  and    others    treated    the    whole   matter    with 


A    SUPERANNUATE.  303 

indifference.  It  was  a  fearful  delusion,  the  effects  of 
which  have  not  yet  terminated.  In  many  places,  that 
year,  large  numbers  flocked  into  the  Churches,  whose 
minds  were  probably  brought  to  bear  on  the  subject 
of  religion,  under  the  influence  of  that  excitement ; 
and,  it  is  altogether  likely,  that  some,  by  that  means, 
became  good  Christians — nevertheless,  the  evils  at- 
tending the  propagation  of  Millerism,  were  apparent 
to  all  candid  observers.  It  was  a  grand  deception ; 
yet,  perchance,  the  good  Being  made  it  the  occasion 
of  the  awakening  of  some  who  were  really  converted. 
He  can  overrule  evil  so  as  to  bring  good  out  of  it, 
without  sanctifying  the  evil.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
may  not  be  contrary  to  his  plan  of  providence  to 
permit  such  delusions  to  prevail  as  a  scourge  to  the 
Churches  for  their  indifference  to  the  true  objects  of 
their  holy  mission.  At  all  events,  the  prevalence  of 
such  heresies  should  serve  as  warnings  to  Christians, 
of  every  name,  never  to  relax  their  efforts  for  the 
maintenance  of  sound  doctrines  and  pure  morality. 

Here,  as  in  all  other  places  where  I  have  traveled, 
there  Vere  some  members  whose  light,  like  the  city 
upon  the  hill,  could  not  be  hid.  Such  are,  indeed, 
the  "salt  of  the  earth."  Praise  God,  religion  is  the 
same  every-where!  It  enlightens  the  eyes,  makes 
wise  the  simple,  rejoices  the  heart,  and,  in  a  word,  it 
exalts  man  to  his  proper  dignity,  fits  him  for  living 
and  for  dying,  and  qualifies  him  to  live  forever  with 
the  holy  and  the  happy  in  heaven.  Having  finished 
the  work,  made  new  class-books,  etc.,  I  started  to 


304  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

conference,  praying  God  to  pardon  all  he  had  seen 
amiss  in  preachers  or  people,  and  to  direct  in  the 
appointments  for  the  coming  year. 

In  1843,  at  the  session  of  conference  held  in  Chil- 
licothe,  there  were  some  appointments  taken  from  the 
Granville  charge,  and  formed  into  a  separate  two- 
weeks'  circuit,  called  Johnstown  circuit.  Here  I  was 
appointed  to  labor.  This  was  home  work.  Having 
traveled  over  the  ground  two  years,  while  it  was  con- 
nected with  Granville,  I  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
people.  No  time  was  lost  from  moving,  or  other 
causes,  but  I  entered  at  once  upon  the  work  of  visit- 
ing from  house  to  house,  talking  and  praying  with  the 
families,  and  preaching  nearly  every  day  in  the  week. 
I  probably  prepared  more  new  pulpit  subjects,  this 
year,  than  any  one  year  of  my  life.  I  had  preached 
a  great  many  times  to  this  people,  and  felt  anxious 
to  feed  them  with  food  convenient  for  them — some 
with  "milk,"  and  some  with  "  strong  meat,"  that  they 
might  grow  thereby.  Wes  had  no  special  revival,  yet 
the  people  lived  in  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  and  the 
bond  of  peace.  Love  and  harmony  prevailed  through 
all  our  borders.  It  was  a  year  of  real  profit  to  my- 
self. In  applying  my  mind  to  books,  in  studying  the 
holy  Bible,  seeking  to  bring  forth  from  that  store- 
house of  knowledge  things  new  and  old,  I  found  great 
delight.  Some  incidents  occurred  worthy  of  record, 
but  space  will  not  permit  me  to  dwell. 

In  1844,  I  was  appointed  to  Irvillc  circuit,  in  con- 
nection with  Rev.   Samuel   Hamilton.     We   labored 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  305 

together  as  brethren,  in  love  and  harmony,  had  some 
good  times,  but  no  special  revival;  the  circuit  was 
large,  and  the  work  was  pretty  heavy.  In  1845,  I 
went  to  the  Hebron  circuit  with  brother  P.  A.  Mutch- 
ner,  who  has  long  since  departed  this  life,  in  full 
prospect  of  the  heavenly  glory.  This  was  a  year  of 
some  prosperity.  In  1846,  I  was  returned  with  Rev. 
Wesley  Webster,  now  of  the  Cincinnati  conference,  a 
worthy,  faithful  preacher,  and  a  most  amiable  col- 
league. We  had  some  revivals  during  the  year,  and 
closed  up,  thankful  to  God  for  comforting  and  sus- 
taining grace.  This  was  a  warm-hearted  people,  who 
exerted  themselves  to  meet  their  obligations  to  the 
Church  and  ministry  with  promptness  and  fidelity. 

In  1847,  the  Thornville  circuit  was  my  field  of 
labor,  and  Rev.  Benjamin  Ellis  my  colleague.  The 
year  passed  away  pleasantly,  closing  with  a  camp 
meeting,  which  was  held  four  miles  from  Rushville, 
and  resulted  in  forty  accessions  to  the  Church,  most 
of  whom  found  redemption,  in  the  blood  of  Christ. 
This  was  a  glorious  meeting.  The  numbers  present 
on  Sabbath  were  estimated,  by  good  judges,  at  fifteen 
thousand.  Rev.  J.  M.  Jameson  was  presiding  elder. 
He  filled  the  office  well,  and  met  the  responsibilities 
of  this  occasion  to  admiration.  He  still  lives  to  do 
battle  in  the  Lord's  army — an  affable  man,  and  an 
able  minister  of  the  New  Testament. 

In  1848,  I  traveled  the  Granville  circuit,  with  Rev. 
C.  C.  Lybrand.     My  appointment,  this  year,  was  to 

Irville,   and    Rev.   James   Gilruth   was    appointed  to 

26 


306  RECOLLECTIONS     OP 

Granville;  but  it  was  ascertained,  after  conference 
closed,  that  brother  G.  had  only  been  absent  from 
that  circuit  three  years,  and  could  not  constitutionally 
travel  it  this  year.  So  a  change  was  effected,  he 
going  to  Irville  and  I  to  Granville.  In  1849,  my 
name  was  attached  to  Hebron  circuit,  as  supernu- 
merary. The  next  year  I  traveled  Baltimore  circuit 
with  Rev.  A.  B.  See,  a  warm-hearted  brother,  a  good 
preacher,  and  a  pleasant  enough  colleague  for  any 
man.  In  1851,  with  Rev.  Archibald  Fleming,  I 
went  upon  the  Pickerington  circuit.  Brother  F. 
was,  like  most  of  those  of  whom  I  have  had  occasion 
to  speak,  a  lovely  man  of  God.  I  was  returned,  the 
next  year,  with  brother  Richard  Pitzer.  We  had  a 
very  prosperous  year.  Brother  P.  is  a  zealous,  faith- 
ful laborer.  He  follows  the  direction  of  Solomon, 
"Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
might."  Pickerington  is  one  of  the  best  little  cir- 
cuits in  the  conference. 

In  1853,  I  was  appointed  to  the  Groveport  circuit, 
with  brother  S.  M.  Merrill,  my  last  colleague;  and 
this  was  my  last  circuit.  The  connection  of  brother 
M.  with  the  preparation  of  this  volume,  precludes 
remarks.  Before  this  year  closed,  my  health  failed, 
and  I  was  compelled  to  retire  from  the  field.  Thank 
God !  that,  upon  retiring,  I  could  say,  of  a  truth,  that 
I  never  retreated  from  the  hottest  of  the  battle !  In 
my  humble  way,  I  ever  sought  to  advance  the  cause 
of  truth  and  piety;  and  now,  in  reviewing  the  past, 
my  conscience  bears  me  witness  that  my  motives  have 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  307 

been  pure ;  and  it  is  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to 
me  to  be  able  to  say  and  feel  that  my  endeavors  have 
not  been  altogether  unavailing. 

In  September,  1854,  I  received  a  superannuated 
relation  to  the  conference,  and  from  that  time  to  this, 
August,  1856,  I  have  only  been  able  to  preach  an 
occasional  sermon.  At  times,  it  has  been  difficult  for 
me  to  pray  in  my  family;  at  other  times,  my  voice 
has  been  better,  so  that  I  could  preach  with  such 
apparent  ease  that  the  hearers  would  not  suspect  the 
labor  caused  me  any  pain.  For  the  greater  part  of 
the  time,  I  have  enjoyed  uninterrupted  communion 
with  my  heavenly  Father,  and  felt  a  comforting  as- 
surance that,  if  my  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle 
were  dissolved,  I  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  How 
good  the  Lord  is! 

I  used  to  imagine  that,  if  I  should  live  to  be  super- 
annuated, I  would  become  a  lugubrious  old  man,  and 
feel  like  retiring  from  society,  and  shutting  myself 
up  in  some  unfrequented  place,  to  linger  out  the 
"evil  days"  in  hermit  loneliness.  Thank  God!  such 
is  not  the  case.  Never  in  my  life  did  I  enjoy  the 
society  of  friends  better  than  now.  To  go  out  and 
mingle  with  those  whose  kind  words  and  friendly 
voices  cheered  me  in  the  days  of  my  toil,  is  to  me 
like  living  life  over  again.  This  I  am  sometimes  per- 
mitted to  do ;  and  I  find  the  same  warm  hearts  and 
open  hands  ready  to  greet  me,  and  the  same  willing- 
ness to  hear  what  words  I  can  yet  utter  in  honor  of 


308  RECOLLECTIONS     OF 

the  name  of  my  precious  Savior.     Praise  God  for 
friends  and  friendship ! 

And  now  let  me  glance  over  the  past.     The  provi- 
dence of  God  hath  led  me  in  a  way  that  I  knew  not. 
Reared  in  the  Baptist  Church  to  the  years  of  man- 
hood, without  any  particular  inclination  to  public  life, 
and  with  only  such  advantages  for  education  as  the 
common   schools   afford,  the  idea  could  not  possibly 
have  entered  my  mind,  when  setting  out  in  life,  that 
I  should  ever  become  a  Methodist  preacher;  but  so  it 
is.     More  than  forty  years  of  my  life  have  been  spent 
in  this  work.     My  pathway  has  been  checkered;  the 
"lights  and  shades"  of  itinerancy  have  alternated  in 
my  experience;   but,  in  reviewing  the  past,  I  must 
say,  that  "  goodness  and  mercy  have  followed  me  all 
the  days  of  my  life."     Some  of  the  dispensations  of 
Providence  have  been  not  only  mysterious,  but  sorely 
afflictive;  yet,  in  the  hour  of  darkness,  when  earthly 
comforts    fled,   and    lowering   clouds   overspread   my 
spiritual   sky,   I  trusted  in  the   Lord,   "endured    as 
seeing    the   invisible,"    and,   through   his    abounding 
grace,  my  soul  found  refuge  and  safety.     In  Clinton 
county,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Champlain,  we  consigned  to  the  grave  the  mor- 
tal  remains   of   two   lovely  babes.     In   Washington 
county,  of  the  same  state,  stands  a  stone  sacred  to 
the  memory  of  Betsey,  the  daughter,  of  whose  death 
I  have  already  spoken.     In  Albany  county,  sleeps  the 
dust  of  another  tender  babe.     In  Ross  county,  Ohio, 
lie  the  two  sons  whose  deaths  were  mentioned.     And 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  309 

in  Sangamon  county,  Illinois,  the  body  of  my  son, 
Calvin  Wesley,  rests  in  hope.  "  The  Lord  gave,  and 
the  Lord  hath  taken  away,  and  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord!"  All  of  these  which  had  come  to  years, 
died  triumphantly.  Sleep  on,  dear  children  !  Rest  in 
peace  till  the  angel  of  God  shall  sound  the  trumpet, 
when  the  dead  shall  rise  incorruptible!  Then  shall 
ye  come  forth,  glorious  and  immortal,  with  the  tri- 
umphant shout,  "0  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  0 
grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  The  sting  of  death  is 
sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law ;  but  thanks  be 
to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  V3 

Most  of  my  family  have  preceded  me  to  that  land 
which  is  very  far  off,  where  the  inhabitants  never  say 
they  are  sick,  where  all  darkness  is  excluded,  where 
light,  pure,  unsullied  and  uninterrupted,  reigns  for- 
ever. There  is  the  absence  of  all  pain,  and  the  pres- 
ence of  all  ease — the  absence  of  mortality  with  its 
concomitant  ills,  and  the  presence  of  immortality  with 
all  its  attendant  blessings.  Blessed  world  !  we  may 
not,  while  in  the  flesh,  conceive  of  its  unrevealed 
glories,  but,  happy  for  us  if,  with  St.  John,  we  can 
say,  "Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it 
doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  :  but  we  know 
that,  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him; 
for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."  This  is  enough! 
"  We  shall  be  like  him ;"  like  the  spiritual,  immortal, 
glorified  body  of  Jesus  Christ !  0  what  stupendous 
grace !    What   boundless   love !     Let  us   fall  at  the 


310  RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

feet  of  Jesus,  and  adore  the  God  and  Rock  of  our 
salvation,  who  hath  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light  through  the  Gospel !  Most  of  my  seniors  have 
passed  on  before  me,  and  many  of  my  juniors  have 
departed  this  life,  while  I  remain,  much  like  the  soli- 
tary tree  in  the  open  field,  exposed  to  the  sweeping 
blasts  of  this  stormy  world ;  but,  unworthy  though  I 
be,  God  is  my  refuge  and  defense,  my  shield  and 
buckler,  my  high  tower  and  my  salvation.  His  lov- 
ing-kindness is  better  than  life,  and  my  lips  shall 
praise  him. 

Now  that  my  days  of  active  service  in  the  Church 
are  past,  I  may  be  permittted  to  speak  plainly  on  a 
point  of  some  importance,  and  yet  of  such  delicacy 
that,  under  other  circumstances,  I  could  not  dwell 
upon  it  without  exposing,  myself  to  suspicions  of 
selfishness.  I  refer  to  the  support  of  preachers. 
If  the  Disciplinary  allowance  had  been  the  same  that 
it  is  now  from  the  commencement  of  my  itinerant 
life,  and  if  my  receipts  had  been  the  same  under 
that  provision  that  they  actually  have  been,  the 
aggregate  of  my  deficiencies  would  have  amounted 
to  about  four  thousand  dollars.  The  fact  that  the 
allowance  in  former  years  was  less  than  now,  de- 
creases this  deficiency  somewhat,  but  the  statement 
illustrates  the  results  of  that  policy  which  allows 
the  laborers  to  go  off  from  their  charges  year  after 
year,  without  receiving  their  full  claims.  They  are 
sometimes  compelled  to  retire,  after  many  years  of 
toil,  without  any  means  of  support,  when  the  aggre- 


A     SUPERANNUATE.  311 

gate  of  the  little  mites  not  received  from  their  various 
charges,  would  be  sufficient  to  render  them  comfort- 
able, and  smooth  their  pathway  to  the  tomb,  crown- 
ing the  evening  of  their  lives  with  tranquil  joy. 

I  write  not  for  myself — through  the  basing  of  a 
kind  Providence,  my  own  wants  are  not  so  urgent 
as  are  the  wants  of  others — bufr  I  can  sympathize 
with  the  worn-out  and  needy,  as  men  in  the  prime 
of  life  can  not;  and,  in *behalf  of  all  those  who  have 
spent  their  physidH  and  mental  energies  in  the  glo- 
rious work  of  the  Christian  ministry,  I  appeal  to  the 
liberality,  the  conscience,  the  piety,  the  magnanimity 
of  the  Church!  Brethren,  let  the  claims  of  these 
be  considered ;  think  upon  them  for  good ;  remember 
them  in  prayers  and  offerings;  make  their  hearts 
glad  with  your  munificence,  and  the  blessings  of  old 
men,  with  the  benedictions  of  their  God  will  rest 
upon  you.  And  now,  dear  reader,  I  close.  I  bid 
you  adieu  till  we  shall  meet  in  the  better  world.  But 
in  taking  my  leave  of  you,  I  invoke  the  divine  bless- 
ing upon  us  all,  during  our  remaining  days,  in  the 
language  of  the  poet : 

"  May  the  grace  of  Christ  our  Savior, 

And  the  Father's  boundless  love, 
With  the  Holy  Spirit's  favor 

Rest  upon  us  from  above  : 
Thus  may  we  abide  in  union 

With  each  other  and  the  Lord, 
And  possess,  in  sweet  communion, 

Joys  which  earth  can  not  afford  1" 


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